{"id":10283,"date":"2025-07-21T07:02:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T07:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/10283\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T07:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T07:02:14","slug":"australian-german-team-wins-top-prize-in-first-phase-of-competition-for-canberras-german-embassy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/10283\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian-German team wins top prize in first phase of competition for Canberra\u2019s German Embassy"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Australian-German team has been announced as the first prize recipient in the initial phase of a competition<\/a> to design the chancellery and residence for the German Embassy in Canberra, the site of which is home to a collection of buildings dating back to 1958.<\/p>\n

The first stage of the three-phase competition, conducted by the German government, has been won by Richter Musikowski, a Berlin-based firm, and Lahznimmo Architects with Spackman Mossop Michaels Landscape Architects, both based in Sydney. Specialist consultants ADP Consulting and Daniel Butterick Consulting were also involved.<\/p>\n

Second prize has also been awarded to an Australian-German team, comprising Berlin-based firm Buero Hacke, along with Melbourne-based practice Kerstin Thompson Architects and landscape architecture studio Openwork. <\/p>\n

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In response to the competition brief, which called for \u201cdemolition and reconstruction of the chancellery, along with the renovation or partial preservation of the residence building,\u201d the winning design proposes a new, three-storey chancellery building and extends the existing residence building with a two-storey pavilion to the east of the corner site. <\/p>\n

The architects note that the separation of the embassy\u2019s structures maintains the site\u2019s urban proportions and preserves views of Black Mountain in the city\u2019s north-west, while at the scale of the plot, the scheme is \u201ccharacterised by the landscape and topography of the site, the oval of the lawn, and the surrounding treetops to the west and south,\u201d which \u201cnaturally describe a gently sloping, space-forming arch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new pergola roof complements this emerging space and connects both the buildings and the natural space with each other to create a representative yet intimate, poetic garden,\u201d the designers note.<\/p>\n

Being ovular in shape, the garden is intended to serve as \u201ca metaphor for the relationship between Germany and Australia, and the aspirations of both countries for equality and openness, democracy and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe inhabited spaces under the curved canopy, the grassland and the landscaped path that surrounds it will encourage the sharing of experiences, the exchange of ideas and the strengthening of existing relationships between Germany and Australia,\u201d the architects observe.<\/p>\n

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Led by Spackman Mossop Michaels, the landscape design draws conceptually on the \u201cgenius loci\u201d of place, adopting species of the Monaro Grasslands, such as snow gum eucalyptus trees, as well as native grasses and wildflowers \u2013 which, the designers note, offer the opportunity to propagate the seeds of endangered species.<\/p>\n

The scheme also transforms the previous energy- and water-intensive landscape into a new, drought-resistant garden that requires minimal maintenance and irrigation.<\/p>\n

Architecturally, the winning scheme adopts the motif of the \u201cshady garden,\u201d with a structured soffit and light openings designed to create a variety of intermediate spaces with informal facilities for meetings and gatherings, breaks and retreats. With its shaded canopy, the chancellery roof terrace is imagined as a special gathering space. Likewise, covered outdoor areas and an enlarged roof are proposed for the upper floor of the residence.<\/p>\n

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Third prize for the competition has been awarded to Dietrich Untertrifaller Architects, from Munich, with Kieran Fraser Landscape Design, from Vienna, who sought specialist consulting from two Australian firms, Architectus and Arup. The winners of the first, second and third prizes will progress to negotiations during the second stage of the competition before the project is awarded.<\/p>\n

The full list of competition winners can be viewed online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Australian-German team has been announced as the first prize recipient in the initial phase of a competition…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10284,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-10283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}