Outcrop Architecture
Established by Mark Kennedy in early 2009, Outcrop Architecture is an emerging Architecture Consultancy based in Townsville. The practice is currently involved in a diverse mix of public, commercial and community projects both as collaborations with other architects and as an independent practice. We are part of the next generation of Architects in North Queensland, bringing a high level of expertise, passion and commitment to the practice of Architecture in this region.
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Projects:
Apex Park Redevelopment
Rasmussen, Townsville, 2011
Outcrop Architecture was appointed in June 2010 as the Architect of the building components of the $4.5M redevelopment of Apex Park, Rasmussen as part of the Riverway Upper Ross Community Hub Project. The vision for the project is to revitalise an underutilised and degraded area alongside the Upper Ross River, to create a new focus and sense of place for the Upper Ross community. The project includes a range of building structures, including amenities, shelter canopies, lookouts and an elevated walkway. The buildings are designed as a family of similar dynamic forms that aim to create a new identity and sense of place for the park. Roof planes are the primary visual element, creating a sense of shade appropriate to the North Queensland climate. The scheme is designed carefully around significant existing vegetation, including several substantial raintrees, to create new experiences of the river edge and emphasise interesting aspects of the existing landscape. The relationship of each building to the existing topography was carefully considered in the design, grounding the new elements into the existing context. The project creates and emphasises new view-lines to the nearby dramatic rocky hills, heightening the experience of the landscape. A unique experience of walking among the canopies of raintrees and an elevated river lookout at the water’s edge are also created.
BER School Projects
Townsville, 2010
In 2009 and 2010, Outcrop Architecture designed, documented and delivered a series of projects for 8 schools under the BER National Schools Pride program with Architects North. As the brief for each of the projects was nominated by the individual school, this program resulted in a wide variety of works, including new classroom constructions, substantial shade structures, Outdoor Learning Areas, landscape upgrades, and classroom refurbishments. The projects ranged in value up to a maximum of $200K each. Our approach on all projects was to use our design skills strategically to seek opportunities to add value to the final outcome and find greater possibilities within the brief and budget than might otherwise be envisaged. Due to the large number of stakeholders, it was imperative that clear briefing, recording and reporting protocols were utilised. All projects were successfully delivered within the narrow constraints of the BER program, including tight timeframes for delivery and budget limitations.
North Shore Town Square Shade Structure
Burdell, Townsville, 2012
In October 2010, Outcrop Architecture commenced work on the North Shore Town Square Project with Landscape Architects, RPS. Our predominant role in the project is the design and documentation, including consultant coordination, of a substantial fixed shade structure and retractable shade system for the square. The project is part of a wider development of a new town centre for the developing suburb of North Shore. As the central pedestrian amenity of the precinct, the town square design aims to create an identifiable new ‘place.’ Our design approach included detailed analysis of the prevailing climatic conditions of the town square. The result of this analysis was to greatly increase the quantity of shading to the square initially envisaged, providing better passive environmental conditions throughout the year. A dramatic fixed shade structure is created to define the civic scale and form of the town square. Additional layers are overlaid over this strong frame, including a retractable shade sail system that is utilised seasonally to cover the majority of the square at a high level, providing thermal comfort to a large, open pedestrian space.
