Super Colossal has been awarded the commission for the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial on Anzac Parade in the ACT. The project was won in an open two stage competition. The project was launched by the Minster for Veteran Affairs, Alan Griffin MP at Parliament House on Friday 19th December.

The Australian Peacekeeping Memorial comprises of two primary elements. The first is a glowing passage of light that is both legible within the oversized urbanism of Anzac Parade and provides a powerful entry sequence for the memorial. The passage comprises of two massive, equally weighted monoliths set slightly off the ground in a stone court. They are representative of parties in conflict, separated by an intense light.

This walkway between the two monoliths is lined with backlit stone. To the rear of this passage is a contained gathering space for ceremonial purposes and individual reflection.

The focus of this area is a single beam that spans across the space bearing the names of the individual campaigns of the Australian Peacekeeping forces from their first campaign in Indonesia in 1947 until the present day. Below the beam is an inclined plane on which commemorative wreaths may be placed. The surface of this plane is highly polished, reflecting the sky and trees above.

The project will begin Design Development and Contract Documentation in January 2009.

…continue reading…

Google is employing the hive mind in mapping parts of the planet where existing data is difficult to obtain. Their mapmaker service allows people to chart out their environment using collaborative tools.

Below we see Islamabad, Pakistan taking shape:

The emphasis of the service on regions where existing map data is thin is represented in this image of the world as currently mapped out by the internet users globally:

Larger version

Previously:
Photo sharing site as latter day cartography service

[Position Filled. Thanks to everyone that sent their portfolios in!]

Okay. So we need some staff. If you are looking for work and you fit the outline below, then please send your CV and portfolio to info@supercolossal.ch

Some notes for those interested in sending in their CVs:

• We are looking for someone to start in the second week of January 2009.
• We are looking for a graduate, with project experience and preferably with experience in documentation.
• Excellence In Model Making skills will be valued highly. We share office space with Tribe Studios and we would like to make better models than them.
• You may be expected to contribute to this blog, so writing coherently and the ability to find curios in hidden corners of the internet is a plus.
• You must have excellent taste in music. At this moment, excellent taste in music includes the following: The Magnetic Fields, The Triffids, Paavoharju, Bruce Springsteen. But this may change.
• We are up to series 4 of The Wire. You?
• We currently have adequate in-house crocheting skills, so while we would never say no to more, please don’t feel that it is a pre-requisite for application.
• Because you are the youth you know ALL SOFTWARE IN EXISTENCE innately, but you may like to know that we use macintosh computers for typing into and archicad for most of our drawing.
• In case you didn’t know, we are in Sydney, Australia.
• Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to sponsor international superstar architects currently residing in Australia and the recruitment agencies take, like, 30% of the pay packet for visa sponsorship, so that’s not really viable for anyone is it? Except for the recruitment agencies I guess.

So if that sounds reasonable to you, send us a sample of your work (soon! the year is running out!) and we will get in contact. And please pass this on to anyone you know who may be looking for some work.

This just in:

“So there’s a big hub-bub about what to call the CCTV tower. People
are leaning towards Zhichuang which translates to “Knowledge Window”
but it’s a homophone for haemorrhoids” - Aaron via Matt.

Those that feel like translating, please do so in the comments.