Port of Sale shortlisted for architecture awards

Friday 24 May 2019

Wellington’s Port of Sale has been shortlisted in two categories of the Victorian Architecture Awards 2019.

Architect Francis-Jones Morehen Thorp entered the project into the Public Architecture category of the awards, with judges visiting the space last month to inspect the building and surrounds.

Upon inspection, the judges also entered the Port of Sale into a secondary regional award category.

Wellington Shire Council Mayor Alan Hall said Council and the local community had embraced the new Port of Sale precinct.

“In the 16 months since opening, the Port of Sale building has become a much-loved and appreciated part of our community,” Cr Hall said.

“Locals and visitors have quickly embraced the Port of Sale as a meeting place, somewhere to discover new things and as a destination to spend a morning or afternoon.

“For a public building, the architect did a brilliant job designing a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, along with spaces that encourage work and business.”

The original building was designed in the late-modern brutalist style, with the redevelopment sympathetic and complimentary to that history, but also bringing in the warmth of local timbers.

Since its opening in January 2018, around 250,000 of people have visited the Port of Sale and enjoyed the new space.

“We love the Port of Sale,” Cr Hall said.

“We now await the results of the awards to see if the judges loved it too.”

Final winners will be announced at a presentation dinner on 28 June.