41X

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: 41X is a project by Lyons Architecture - where Carey Lyon is principal architect - to house the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) in Melbourne. The building is a hub for architecture, Institute members and the general public. It has a 5-Star Green Star and 5-Star NABERS Energy ratings, making it the first strata-titled commercial office building in Melbourne to target carbon neutrality over its thirty-year operating cycle. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: Lyons has created a building that visibly connects the Institute to the public realm. Revealing the Institute's home to the city as a public space was key to the Institute's identity. This project demonstrates Lyon's ongoing interest in thinking about issues that are "larger" than architecture; its commitment to making identity-driven spaces expresses collective and individual identity, hierarchy and complexity, individuality and autonomy. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: At the 2015 AIA Victorian Awards, the project won the Sustainable Architecture Award. AIA awards are the most prestigious in the design and construction industry in Australia, vital to public and peer recognition of outstanding contributions in architecture and the built environment. The project was featured three times in the professional journal Architecture Australia. According to Her Excellency the Honourable Quentin Bryce AC CVO, 'This elegant addition to Melbourne's CBD makes a bold statement about the value of design. With this building, the Institute is strongly reinforcing the value of architects and architecture to the sustainable growth of our community - tangibly fulfilling its mission of making the world a better place through architecture.'