Project experience and career summary
Soon after graduating from the University of Canberra, David travelled to London in 1987 where he worked as a designer for internationally-renowned architects Terry Farrell Partnership on the Alban Gate commercial office project. On his return in 1989 David consolidated his credentials as a Design Associate for Daryl Jackson Pty Ltd, with responsibilities on the Museum of Victoria, Southbank, Melbourne, a project of $120 million.
In the six years with this practice, before establishing BLP, David demonstrated his capacity to grasp diverse and conflicting issues, and devise design strategies to draw the rational from the complexity that is found with large commercial and institutional projects. David is presently the Director-in-charge of the Grand Hyatt Hotel project which incorporates redevelopment of the Collins and Russell Street facades as well as the podium level retail space.
Prior to this David completed the Carlton Housing Estates Redevelopment Master plan for the Office of Housing 2005-06. Focused on the replacement of the walk-up apartments, the masterplan proposes the redevelopment of three OoH sites in Carlton. Fundamental to the concept is the reinstatement of street networks to reintegrate the estates with the community together with the relocation of existing community facilities to the perimeter of the sites. The built form will look at the integration of both public and private housing on the sites, with an increase in the current density.
Recently David has seen several projects through their construction phase. Village Park, the $100m athletes' village for the 2006 Commonwealth Games, completed for the games, fulfilled David’s responsibility as the Design Director for Village Park Consortia. The Homemakers SupaCenta in Belrose north of Sydney is a $60m, 38,000sqm, bulky goods retail centre which presented an opportunity to develop a distinctive building form on a difficult site.
Nearby, in the Austlink Business Park, a $10m warehouse and industrial tenancies development is under construction. It too presented a challenging site that was astutely exploited to provide street entry on three levels. In Richmond, on Melbourne’s city edge, GE Money’s new $32m building provides them with an additional 14,500sqm of office area. Part of the Botanicca Corporate Park developed by RMAC, a joint venture of R.Corporation and Macquarie Bank, it will become the new corporate face of GE in the region.
Under David’s direction the $30 million redevelopment of the St Kilda Railway Station, in Melbourne, a project now known as The Metropol, successfully addressed the challenge of balancing existing with new uses, historical dimensions with the vibrancy of the new, and retail with residential development. Recently David led the design team in a redevelopment proposal for the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Melbourne’s prestigious Collins Street. The existing podium levels and façade were considered by the new owners as tired and in need of refurbishment. The proposal re-invigorates the façade and provides new retail tenancies at street level and three new floors of office space.
David’s experience in health-related work has included collaboration with Leighton Contractors on a proposal for Berwick Community Hospital ($55m) and the Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre & Mercy Women's Hospital Masterplan Study 2000, and was actively involved in the design of Royal Melbourne Hospital Stage 2 & 3 redevelopment ($45m).
Past Sydney projects have included The Cove and Delano residential projects and, more recently, retail / residential developments including The Tides in Collaroy Beach ($15m), Marlborough Street in Drummoyne, and a commercial development in Delhi Road, North Ryde. Affiliations Associate Royal Australian Institute of Architects Education Bachelor of Applied Science in Architecture – University of Canberra Teaching University of Melbourne 1990–1994