The 2013 architecture Awards season is getting into full swing across the nation. It’s timely to ask if Awards tell us much about what good architecture is or if they’re just about appearances

James Packer reckons his planned hotel/casino in Barangaroo will be the most iconic building in Sydney since the Opera House. But is another international icon either necessary or achievable?

The design of war memorials is an emotionally intense and fraught task and one of the hardest jobs a designer can take on. Most times simple is best but that’s also the hardest to pull off

There’re moves to preserve this 1960s “brutalist” building, but it’s architectural distinction is questionable. It’s unoriginal, uninspired and captures little of the vision of the movement

A car park seems an unlikely candidate for heritage protection, but an activist group “with 1,000 Facebook supporters” wants to save Melbourne’s Total Car Park from being torn down.

Sydney City Council has announced the winner of the architectural competition for Sydney’s new Green Square library and plaza. But does it make sense to spend big money on a branch library?

The public don’t get much say in the selection of designs for major public buildings even though they’re the main users, but there’s a case for them having a bigger role

Former US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says the ‘architecture’ of foreign relations needs to look more like the work of Frank Gehry than the formal Greek of the Parthenon

Bigger and better known firms tend to dominate anonymous architectural competitions – maybe it’s because they’re very good “gamers”

The international architectural competition for the redevelopment of Melbourne’s iconic Flinders St Station is throwing up some fabulous ideas, but there are questions about the selection process