Cox Architecture is an architectural firm located in several cities of Australia, spanning almost 60 years. It follows contemporary architecture, having a socialist approach towards its design. They specialize in four principles; Structure, Nature, Art, craft, and implement them in their designs.
COX works within a collegiate framework allowing the most straightforward ideas to emerge – we are ‘by the many, for the many.’ Their firm consists of 500 talented architects, urban planners, interior designers, researchers, and digital visualization experts.
Below are a few projects by Cox Architecture:
1. National Maritime Museum of China | COX Architecture
Designed by Cox Architecture, the structure is known for its distinctive form. Its shape resembles the hand fan emerging from the waterfront to the bay. The inspiration of the design is taken from shapes of sea creatures like starfish and corals; ships parked in the ports. The three-story complex comprises four wings. Each wing is dedicated to a different aquatic theme: the ancient ocean, ocean today, a journey of discovery, and the dragon’s age.
The four wings emerge from a central exhibition, which acts as both transition and exhibition space. This central space also provides access to the upper floors. There are a total of six display areas and fifteen interconnected exhibition halls. The functional aspect of the structure focuses on shedding heavy snow loads during harsh winters, which is typical in this part of China.
2. Sir John Monash Centre
The Sir John Monash Centre, designed by Cox Architecture, is a part of the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, France. Sir Edwin Lutyens previously designed the National Memorial in 1938 to commemorate 10,767 Australians. They died in France during a battle with Germany and helped France win. The twin ramps connect the building to the monument, attached to the existing pavilions present on either side of the tower, completing Lutyens terrace paths as initially intended.
The ramps run along the existing walls of the structure that bear the names of almost 11,000 lost soldiers. The ramp sharply turns at 90 degrees at the end so that the visitors can see the tower before entering the underground interpretive center. These sharp turns tell us about the narrow ditches of the Western Front, which were not simple straight routes and were designed to limit incoming artillery. The ramps lead visitors into a dim foyer entry of the sunken courtyard.
Towards the exit is the landing threshold from where one can see the battlefield where Sir John Monash won the battle. A vital feature of the design is the triangular opening or ‘oculus’ that penetrates the building’s meadow roof. Visitors can see it from the top of the tower. The oculus opens up in the tower’s direction from inside the new center and allows the best view.
3. National Wine Center
Cox Architecture designed the building, which contains an interactive museum, a range of wine-tasting facilities, offices of Australian wine industry organizations, and spaces for events. The form is inspired by segments of wine barrels and the skeletal nature of vines.
The building’s layout preserved significant trees on site, with new plantings carefully placed, acting as focal points in the gardens. Its interiors associate with the surrounding landscape and encourage visitors to experience each component of the center sequentially. One side of the arc leads to two historic buildings—the other guides to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens administration building.
4. The Mook
Cox Architecture designed the house, which comprises a prefabricated steel frame elevated on concrete piers, is intended more as a ‘sophisticated tent’ than a separate dwelling. The volume houses the main bedroom, which also serves as the dining and gathering area for the whole family. Large sliding glass doors leave a seamless spatial connection between the indoor and outdoor.
The pavilion features a double roof. The upper layer serves to shade the general structure and reduce the warmth load into interior spaces. This canopy element also collects rainwater stored in a tank for use in a greywater system. The lower roof takes an instead curving shape. It is made from highly insulated prefabricated sandwich panels that further moderate temperatures in the spaces below.
5. Sydney Colosseum Theatre | COX Architecture
Cox Architecture designed the Sydney Amphitheater, which comprises three lobbies and 7 bars. It can have musicals, sensational theater, shows, artful dance, contemporary dance, family diversion, and satire. Not restricted to this, the performance center likewise flaunts an on-location business kitchen, corporate occasion rooms, meeting spaces, and that is just the beginning.
A streaming solid drapery clears across lobbies and around the assembly hall, making a smooth motion that interests. Glimpses through the concrete curtain are emphasized through vertical glass fragments that uncover inside shading to the surrounding context.
6. Jakarta International Velodrome
Cox Architecture’s building design combines a series of earth berms that contribute to the public arrival sequence. The velodrome has a layer rooftop and translucent cladding over the concourse level that permits natural light into the structure and makes a shining lamp-like environment in the evening. The use of terracotta blocks surrounding the podium reflects local technology and a cultural commitment to pattern making. Located within a wider sports precinct, the velodrome is arranged to suit a master-planned experience focusing on a public plaza. The building is a permanent facility; however, the roof technology is modular – most commonly used in their temporary sport and event buildings.
7. Kaohsiung Exhibition Centre
Cox Architecture designed the building office that joins presentations and shows in a solitary incorporated space, permitting the middle adaptability to have fluctuating occasions and gatherings simultaneously. The rooftop uses a substituting shell structure framework with umbrella brackets that lessen steel weight and oppose strong breezes and expected seismic powers.
Lookout windows and vents permit the structure to react to the climate and welcome characteristic light and ventilation – improving supportability. The presentation segment of the middle has 1100 indoor ground floor stands and 400 outside stands. The show part of the middle obliges 2000 delegates and is situated on the primary floor. The storm cellar houses catering offices in addition to administration and gear rooms.
8. Cairns Performing Arts Centre
Cox Architecture designed the building, consisting of a main Proscenium Curve theater of 950 seats, a 400 seat Adaptable Studio, and an outer Presentation Amphitheater having around 3,000 seats. The structure is a structure ‘in the round’ with sculptural massing that obliges a tall fly pinnacle inside a durable system. The plan reacts to the city’s emotional Tropical setting. The tropical reaction is refined in the hall’s sun-based screen that faces northwest to the nearby Parklands.
Scene tones and the weaving customs add to the intricacy of a screen that changes articulation through night and day, giving diffuse light to the lobby. Insides further investigate rainforest reasonableness with a sensational wood secured space that accomplishes acoustic assignments and adds to the performance.
9. Wilderness School | COX Architecture
Cox Architecture designed the building, an open, transparent design that emphasizes windows and clear sightlines. Open Classrooms puts student learning on display, making education communal, encouraging collaboration, creating a public forum for discussions, and observing student work.
The Commons has been intended to expand learning openings and advance the student insight through its actual structure and creation, inside settings, and outside climate. Learning is no longer restricted to the confines of four walls; Instead, every inch of the school is scoured for its ability to contribute to education.
10. The Wildlife Retreat at Taronga
The Wildlife Retreat at Taronga comprises five ecologically and economically planned hotels incorporated into the local bushland setting of Taronga Zoo. Cox Architecture designed the Retreat which consists of 62 luxury rooms and suites, a guest lodge entry pavilion, and a separate restaurant building that interfaces the Retreat to the current Taronga Center capacity spaces. The units encompass and ignore an open and available creature display exhibiting local Australian species.
The constructed structure is divided to establish a low-scale porous climate with different visual and actual associations. The outside material range and façade articulation coordinate structures into the encompassing scene.
The shared public components of the retreat include the reception guest lodge and dining facility, which includes a function space on the second story. These buildings reply to the circular style of the present Taronga Centre and may be opened in appropriate weather to produce exterior gathering spaces for guests.
11. Putney Hill | COX Architecture
The Putney Hill development in Ryde is a community with everything a homeowner could ever need. The project was secured by COX Architecture, winning a design competition. Putney is a popular neighborhood of over 800 apartments and houses nestled amongst parklands, community gardens, children’s playgrounds, running tracks, and native bushland.
All 800 dwellings, which range from apartments to houses, were constructed in six stages. Typologies include:
- Low-rise houses on terraced landscapes.
- Semi-detached homes along the edge of the site.
- Low-density homes that transition in scale.
The development dedicated over 60-per-cent of the location to open spaces, including flowering canopies of mature evergreen trees. Vital public spaces include:
- A rooftop terrace and community garden.
- Landscaped courtyard.
- Lawn and BBQ areas.
- Multi-purpose communal room complete with a kitchen and outdoor fitness equipment.
12. Capital Square
Cox Architecture’s design plan utilizes a natural engineering language that consents to the precise math of encompassing metropolitan scenes. Streaming structures commend the freshwater spring, which once went through the site to the waterway underneath. An unmistakably West Australian range of tones and materials references earth and sky, with the blue glass of the vertical pinnacle moored by rich ochres on the flat plane.
A roundabout structure toward the west houses an amphitheater clad in gold punctured boards portraying the northwest coast, a few appointed public craftsmanship pieces around the site. Gold is emphasized on the vertical components of the pinnacle’s lower floors. The round theme is rehashed in parts, for example, primary sections and shade structures. This bound-together taste makes an unmistakable personality that emanates a hidden feeling of welcome.
13. Casey Market Town
Cox architecture designed the center is served by several retail typologies, including two major supermarkets and various specialty shops. The design of the retail center incorporates active facades to street frontages, public open space, and over 400 car parking. Specialty shops located along directions take advantage of street exposure and pedestrian traffic to encourage activity within the local area.
The major facilities in the center are conveniently located along the main road, with access to local public transport and pedestrian networks. The architectural expression is bold yet functional. It goes beyond a superficial facade to create materiality that will improve with time.
14. Channel Nine HQ
The undertaking consolidated three parcels with encased passerby spans, empowering continuous stream between existing places of business and another studio broadcasting structure, which highlights the turn of events. Mooring the grounds is a progression of collapsing ground planes bouncing a ventured amphitheater that capacities as a corporate occasion space.
Sheathed in a lightweight punctured shroud, the studio structure denotes a clear signal for the grounds and Channel Nine’s new character inside Perth CBD’s corporate scene. COX Architecture worked closely with Primewest and Channel Nine to provide an urban campus environment and new visual gateway at the apex of St Georges Terrace.
15. The NSW Cricket Centre | COX Architecture
Cox architecture designed the structure, including a two-story cricket center and two ovals, 50 outdoor turf practice nets, a 15-lane indoor facility, elite and community change rooms, a gym, rehabilitation and recovery center, and a café.
In addition, the design includes a central atrium that connects the mezzanine office space and cricket nets below – immersing employees in action. Thus, the venue is multi-functional, ready to host events from 1500 participants (like the significant Bash League fan day) to a matchday of up to 1000 spectators.
References
- COX. 2021. The Wildlife Retreat at Taronga — COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/the-wildlife-retreat-at-taronga/> [Accessed 16 April 2021].
- designboom | architecture & design magazine. (2014). rodney moss creates the mook in australia for family retreat. [online] Available at: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/rodney-moss-creates-the-mook-australia-06-22-2014/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2021].
- designboom | architecture & design magazine. (2020). national maritime museum of china by COX architecture opens in tianjin. [online] Available at: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/national-maritime-museum-china-cox-opens-tianjin-03-08-2020/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2021].
- COX. (n.d.). Wilderness School. [online] Available at: https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/wilderness-school/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2021].
- Coxarchitecture.com.au. (2021). [online] Available at: https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/518005_00_N63_highresjpg-1980×1238.jpg [Accessed 20 Apr. 2021].
- COX. (n.d.). The NSW Cricket Centre. [online] Available at: https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/the-nsw-cricket-centre/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2021].
- COX. 2021. Kaohsiung Exhibition Centre — COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/kaohsiung-exhibition-centre/> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
- COX. 2021. Sir John Monash Centre — COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/sir-john-monash-centre/> [Accessed 20 April 2021].
- COX. 2021. National Wine Centre — COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/national-wine-centre/> [Accessed 20 April 2021].
- COX. 2021. Channel Nine Headquarters — COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/channel-9-headquarters/> [Accessed 20 April 2021].
- COX. 2021.Casey Market Town— COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/kaohsiung-exhibition-centre/> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
- COX. 2021.Capital Square— COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/kaohsiung-exhibition-centre/> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
- COX. 2021.Putney Hill— COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/kaohsiung-exhibition-centre/> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
- COX. 2021.Cains Performing Arts Centre— COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/kaohsiung-exhibition-centre/> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
- COX. 2021.Jakarta International Velodrome— COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/kaohsiung-exhibition-centre/> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
- COX. 2021.Sydney Convention Centre— COX. [online] Available at: <https://www.coxarchitecture.com.au/project/kaohsiung-exhibition-centre/> [Accessed 15 April 2021].
