Discover Australia’s iconic buildings for World Architecture Day

Happy World Architecture Day! Commonly known for its wide-open spaces and natural beauty, Australia is also filled with stunning architectural sights for lovers of the built environment.

World Architecture Day returns every first Monday of October, and to celebrate, we’ve created a roundup of some of Australia’s top architecture spots — expect modern marvels and historic gems. Read on to see iconic architectural landmarks and stand in awe of innovative designs that harmonize with its surrounding environment.

D'Arenburg Cube, South Australia

The wonderfully unconventional d’Arenberg Cube at the d’Arenberg winery is one of the most recognisable attractions in the fertile McLaren Vale wine region, less than an hour’s drive south of the South Australian capital of Adelaide.

Sitting like an uncompleted Rubik’s cube (its inspiration), this is a hands-on art gallery, sensory-focused wine tasting room and casual dining space all rolled into one, housed in an extraordinary five-storey glass structure.

Unconventional designs featuring acute angles and gleaming finishes combine with a host of celebrated wines to make this an astonishing venue. The winery is also home to the acclaimed d’Arry’s Verandah Restaurant, in a restored 19th-century homestead.

The StandardX, Melbourne / Narrm

Pioneering hotel chain Standard International has just launched its first Australian outpost, StandardX in Melbourne / Narrm. Located in vibrant, post-industrial Fitzroy, StandardX is an homage to the suburb’s lively heritage as Melbourne’s first suburb, and now one of the city’s most famous cultural hubs.

StandardX’s public spaces draw in Fitzroy’s rebellious spirit with bold artworks by local artists such as Sarah Smalltown’s macrame wrapped pillars, which contrast against the 125 suites’ contemporary, uncomplicated aesthetics, with room categories ranging from the intimate Cozy King to spacious Suite Spot.

MPavilion 10, Melbourne / Narrm

MPavilion 10 by Tadao Ando opened to the public in Melbourne in late 2023, marking the tenth edition of the Australian cultural attraction. Since 2014, Naomi Milgrom Foundation has commissioned an inspired selection of local and international architects to design a temporary pavilion for Queen Victoria Gardens, in the centre of Melbourne’s Southbank Arts Precinct. The pavillions are then gifted to the state of Victoria.

One of Japan’s leading contemporary architects, Tadao Ando is a master of light known for his striking geometric interventions in nature. When asked about the brief, Tadao Ando commented:

“The design for the MPavilion began with a desire to find a scene of eternity within the public gardens of the Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne. Eternal, not in material or structure, but in the memory of a landscape that will continue to live in people’s hearts.”

Rose Seidler House, New South Wales

When completed in 1950, Rose Seidler House was ‘the most talked about house in Sydney’; today it’s a living museum. Designed by the young architect Harry Seidler for his parents, the house remains one of the finest examples of mid 20th-century modern domestic architecture in Australia..

Visitors to Sydney can see a number of examples of Seidler’s work, including the controversial Blues Point Tower, celebrated Australia Square, MLC Centre, and Penelope and Harry Seidler House, an excellent Australian example of Brutalist architecture. For those who want to deep dive into the work of the ‘father of Australian modernism’, The State Library of New South Wales has an extensive Harry Seidler collection which includes over 6,000 architectural plans and drawings, photographs, specifications and personal papers.

Longitude 131, Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, Red Centre, Northern Territory

Longitude 131 was designed by Cox Richardson Architects, the same company behind Sails in the Desert, which was a nationally significant project designed by Philip Cox and launched in 1984 to develop a cohesive township and sustainable visitor precinct to support growing tourism demand at Uluru. With views direct to Uluru and across the desert to Kata Tjuta, Longitude 131˚ is Australia’s most celebrated luxury camp.

Dotted among the red-rust dunes of the Central Desert are sixteen tented pavilions, each offering connection with the outback landscape and its heritage as well as a glamorous base from which to explore the incredible Red Centre. Like Sails in the Desert, Longitude 131 is an example of architecture blending cohesively with the landscape. Rather than dominating its surroundings, these buildings were designed to meld with the landscape, to tell a story about life in the outback.

Australian Islamic Centre, Victoria

Glenn Murcutt is one of Australia’s best-known architects, and the only Australian winner of the prestigious Pritzker Prize, which he won in 2002 in recognition of his innovative and environmentally sensitive buildings. He built his reputation creating sustainable houses across Australia, before building cultural buildings including the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre near Sydney and the Australian Islamic Centre in Melbourne.

Located about 10km west of Melbourne’s city centre, The Australian Islamic Centre represents a unique Islamic environment that integrates Australian values with the beauty of Islam. The centre has evolved from a community centre that mainly serviced the local Muslim community in Newport and its surrounds, to a global architectural icon that has attracted tourists from all over the world. Tours can be booked here.

Sydney Opera House, Sydney / Warrane

Of course, no tour of Australia’s architectural highlights would be complete without a mention of the Sydney Opera House. Built in 1959, the Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic pieces of Australian architecture. The design was originally so complex that critics lambasted architect Jørn Utzon and his “impossible design.” See the sails from the air, take a seat in the concert hall or peek behind the curtain for a tour – here are five epic ways to experience the Sydney Opera House.

For more Australia inspiration, visit australia.com