• Dandenong Star

18th May 2006 09:24:31 AM

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DANDENONG’S $14 million Drum Theatre went home empty-handed at the region’s premier architectural design awards in Beaconsfield last week.

The theatre and its designer, William Ross Architects, were nominated in three of the seven categories at last week’s annual South Eastern Development Architectural Excellence in the South East Awards.

However, the project failed to collect any top honours.

The Drum Theatre and Town Hall complex, which has been described as a pivotal building in the redevelopment of central Dandenong, was beaten by Pakenham’s Y-Zone youth services building for Best Building Conversion, and by the Wonthaggi Railway Station for Best Building Conservation.

For Best Public Building, the theatre lost to the Cranbourne Royal Botanic Gardens’ Australian Garden Visitor Centre.

Noble Park’s new community services hub, the Paddy O’Donoghue Centre, also designed by William Ross Architects, was nominated for several categories but did not win any awards.

William Ross Architects spokesperson Virginia Ross said despite not picking up an award, the company was not disappointed.

“We’re in for several awards nominations in different industries,” she said.

“Awards are always a lottery, it depends what you are up against.

“So, no, we’re not particularly concerned by that.”

The Royal Botanic Gardens project in Cranbourne scooped the ceremony last week with a plethora of awards, including the coveted Chairman’s Premier Award, given to three individual architectural companies who worked on various aspects of the large project.





- Shaun Inguanzo

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