Where art and architecture collide, Perth

In 2011, the former US President Barack Obama once stated that architecture at its best becomes “a work of art we can move through and live in”. While the comment was made a world away in reference to an architecture event in Chicago, the point the then President makes can be applied to pretty much any of the great cities around the world. Think about it. Pretty much anywhere you’ve ever travelled, whether it’s through Europe, Asia, the Americas or Africa, there’s been a building or two which blur the lines between architecture and art. While international exploration may be off the cards for the time being, we’re blessed in Western Australia that we don’t have to go far to find examples of commercial and residential architecture that could easily pass as art of its own.

Below are some of our favourite local examples of where art and architecture collide.

WA Museum Boola Bardip (2020)

Hassell and OMA

The freshest piece of architecture already right up there in terms of public awareness and recognition. Opened to the public last month, WA Museum Boola Bardip’s design melds the old and new. Designed as a series of virtual stories, the facility adds to the site’s restored heritage-listed buildings with a new and fresh contemporary build which is distinctive without overpowering. Old meets new at the centre of the museum, framing a public meeting space for the whole community.

Paganin House (1965)

Iwan Iwanoff

Perhaps the best-known work of the Bulgarian-born refugee architect whose work came to define mid-century Perth, Paganin House is a residential home with a difference in leafy Floreat. An iconic example of mid-century modern architecture nationwide, the home features extensive use of timber and marble – the latter of which features as a prominent element of its front façade. Having featured in commercials for Brownes Dairy, a Little Birdy music video, and been used in the movie Thunderstruck, it doesn’t get more West Aussie than this. Sadly, the home was damaged in a fire in 2015, but was faithfully restored to its original glory years later.

Matagarup Bridge (2018)

Denton Corker Marshall

Matagarup Bridge does far more than its core function of linking the East Perth and Burswood precincts. Iconic for its arches which rise high above the Swan River to meet symmetrically in the middle, the bridge is designed to look like two flying swans and can be illuminated by some 900m of multicoloured LED lighting – often colour coordinated with its neighbouring Optus Stadium.

Perth Concert Hall (1973)

Howlett and Bailey Architects

The brutalist, concrete-heavy presence set back from the street with views north to St Georges Terrace and south to the Swan River may not immediately stand out as art, but has come to stand tall as a distinctive example of an architectural moment in time – for that it makes our list.

Its symmetric frontage, iconic for its soaring concrete columns, shows little of the elegance on offer within. The piece de resistance is a specially commissioned 3000-pipe organ around which the auditorium was built. The organ itself was said to cost $100,000, and the building over $3 million – serious cash in 1973 terms.

Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre (2018)

Iredale Pederson Hook Architects

Credited as the biggest civic timber building constructed in Western Australia since the end of World War II, the Pingelly Recreation and Cultural Centre is proof that architectural artistry is not just limited to the city. The building, made from WA yellow stringy bark sourced near Manjimup and recycled jarrah, serves as the social and sporting hub of its Wheatbelt community and was designed to minimise waste and maximise efficiency. It took home this year’s George Temple Poole Award at this year’s WA Architecture Awards – among the state’s highest architectural honours.

Western Australians have every right to be proud of the developers and architects whose vision and artistry contribute to our state’s built culture of diversity, sustainability and innovation — it’s their work which shapes the way we live our lives. Get it right, and a piece of architecture can come to define an area as its own form of public art.

This is one of the leading principles behind 28 Lyall – the latest architectural vision by the innovative teams at Bates Smart and Sirona Capital. Inspired by the streets it will adorn in South Perth, 28 Lyall will bring unique and timeless design to the area in a way it’s never previously known. With views among the best in Perth, world-class amenity and intelligent design on every level, the development is set to join the list of iconic Perth buildings where art and architecture collide for the benefit of the whole community.