Alexander Tzannes

Alexander Tzannes
AM
Born (1950-12-27) 27 December 1950
Sydney, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
OccupationArchitect
PracticeTzannes Associates

Alexander 'Alec' Tzannes AM (born 27 December 1950) is an Australian architect and academic. He has taught at a number of Australian universities, including at the University of New South Wales as Dean of the university's Faculty of Built Environment from 2008 to 2016. He is also the founding director of Tzannes, a Sydney based architecture and design practice.[1]

Education

Growing up in the suburb of Centennial Park he attended the nearby Sydney Boys High School.

He is a graduate of the University of Sydney, where he completed a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Architecture (winning the University Medal) in 1974, and has a Master of Science (Architecture and Urban Design) from Columbia University (1978).[1][2]

Career

Alexander Tzannes has taught at a number of Australian universities. He was Professor of Design Practice in Built Environment at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, serving as Dean of the university's Faculty of Built Environment from 2008 to 2016, where he is currently Emeritus Professor. He was also a Visiting Professorial Fellow at the Queensland University of Technology in 2003. [3]

Described as "a quintessential Sydney architect in his artful responsiveness to its sense of place"[4] he is also influenced by his commitment to sustainable design[5] and Greek heritage in his design practice.[6] He has designed award-winning houses, apartments and residential complexes, school and educational spaces, commercial office buildings and cultural facilities.

He founded Alexander Tzannes Architects in 1982, which became Lewin Tzannes from 1987-1992 and Tzannes Associates in 1992, trading as Tzannes from 2014 onwards.

Under his direction Tzannes has grown into a leading Australian architecture and design practice,[1] that has won over 200 national, international and state awards.[7] The firm is recognised for their evidence-based creative work across the built environment, including sustainable architecture, master planning, urban design, interiors, and product design.[8]

Key Projects

  • Early in his career Alec Tzannes won the design competition for the Federation Pavilion[9] in Sydney's Centennial Park, which was erected in 1988, during the Australian Bicentenary. The site was previously used to mark the Federation of Australia during the official ceremony on 1 January 1901.[10]
  • In 1988, one of his early residential designs, Henwood House[11] in inner-city Sydney, won both the prestigious Robin Boyd Award for outstanding Domestic Architecture at the RAIA National Awards and the Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture in the NSW Awards. In 1989 his Kinsella House and in 1997 his Snelling House also won both awards.
  • Some of his other AIA award-winning residential designs include Parsley Bay House (2009 NSW AIA Single Residential Award) and Bilgola Residence (2010 Wilkinson Award for Residential Housing).
  • Notable education projects have included the Junior School and Jo Karaolis Sports Centre redevelopment at St Catherine's School in Waverley (2011). Tzannes' designs for Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta[12] and the Junior School campus for Cranbook School in Rose Bay both won Public Architecture Awards at the 2014 AIA NSW Awards.[13]
  • The 2007 Central Park Masterplan by Tzannes in association with Cox Richardson,[14] led to the redevelopment of the brownfield site of the Kent Brewery (then owned by CUB) in Chippendale into the Central Park precinct.
  • In 2016, Tzannes was commissioned by the City of Sydney[15] to design a new range of public domain furniture. The resulting suite of outdoor street furniture and fixtures won multiple design awards including the Good Design Award[16] and the Red Dot Product Design Awards.[17]
  • International House Sydney (IHS) completed in 2017 is the first mass-timber construction office building in Australia.[18] Located in the Barangaroo precinct. IHS and the adjoining Daramu House (completed in 2019), also designed by Tzannes, have won a number of Australian and international awards for architecture and sustainability including the 2018 World Architecture Festival award for Best Use of Certified Timber in Commercial Architecture.[19]
  • Dangrove,[20] a large-scale art storage facility in the inner-city suburb of Alexandria, was designed by Tzannes to function as an exhibition, screening, and performance space holding the collection of contemporary Chinese art belonging to Judith Neilsen. It has won numerous design awards including the 2019 International Architecture Award for Museum & Cultural Buildings.
  • In 2018 a detailed Tzannes report[21] established the urban framework, objectives and design principles for the design of the Martin Place Metro Station, Sydney's first integrated station development. The completion of this award-winning precinct in 2025 "has transformed Sydney’s historic financial heart into a cohesive, vibrant urban experience."[22][23]
  • Tzanne's design for 39 Martin Place,[24] a 28-storey commercial tower above the Martin Place Metro station, was awarded the Sir Arthur G. Stephenson Award For Commercial Architecture at the 2025 NSW Awards of the Australian Institute of Architects.
  • Tzannes' design for the adaptive reuse of the historic Kent Brewery[25] in Sydney's Central Park precinct as the Brewery Yards,[26] undertaken by Tzannes, won the 2025 International Architecture Award for Restoration/Renovation.[27]

Recognition

Further reading

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Emeritus Professor Alec Tzannes". UNSW Sites. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ deborahw (6 February 2017). "Alexander (Alec) Tzannes AM". Sydney Living Museums. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Emeritus Professor Alec Tzannes". UNSW Sites. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  4. ^ Favaro, Paola; Freestone, Robert (2024). Tzannes: Adaptive Urban Architecture and Design (1st ed.). Australia: Thames & Hudson Australia. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-760-76292-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Martin, Charlie (29 December 2025). "The Long-Term Costs of Urban Sprawl". The Responsible Edge Podcast. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  6. ^ Koilakou, Marilena (12 December 2025). "Building with Purpose: Alec Tzannes on Architecture and Ethics". Global Design News. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  7. ^ "Homepage". Tzannes Architect. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Profile". Tzannes Architect. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  9. ^ Goad, Philip (14 August 2018). "A continuing city: The work of 2018 Gold Medallist Alec Tzannes". Architecture, Au.
  10. ^ Federation Monument, Centennial Park, NSW Profile Archived 29 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "First House: Tzannes Associates". ArchitectureAu. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  12. ^ "OMLC / Tzannes Associates". ArchDaily. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  13. ^ Pernice, Raffaele (1 January 2024). "Education, Memory and Community". Paola Favaro and Robert Freestone (eds), Tzannes: Adaptive Urban Architecture and Design, Publisher: Thames & Hudson Australia.
  14. ^ "Architect Bulletin | Designing central park, chippendale". Architect Bulletin. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  15. ^ Sydney, City of. "New street furniture to revitalise our city | City of Sydney - News". news.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  16. ^ "City of Sydney Public Domain Furniture". Good Design. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Red Dot Design Award: Sydney Street Furniture". www.red-dot.org. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  18. ^ Serisier, Gillian (27 July 2017). "International house: a new form of beauty". Australian Design Review. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  19. ^ Architecture, Au Editorial (4 December 2018). "Woha's 'club sandwich' mixed-use complex wins World Building of the Year". Architecture, Au.
  20. ^ Harding, Laura (14 July 2020). "'Extraordinary in every sense': Dangrove Art Storage Facility". Architecture, AU.
  21. ^ The Urban Design of Sydney Metro Martin Place Station Precinct. Report by Tzannes Prepared for Macquarie Corporate Holdings Pty Limited July 2018.
  22. ^ Australian Institute of Architects (2025). "2025 National Awards Program". Australian Institute of Architects.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ Vivian, Philip (27 October 2025). "Martin Place Precinct by Grimshaw, Tzannes and JPW". Architecture, AU.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ Bleby, Michael (22 June 2025). "Sydney's architecture ambitions on show as face of the city changes". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  25. ^ "Brewery Yard". Tzannes Architect. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  26. ^ Tzannes (15 April 2025). "Historic Brewery Powers Afterpay's New Workplace Home in Australia". Work Design Magazine. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  27. ^ "Brewery Yard wins international design award | Architecture & Design". www.architectureanddesign.com.au. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  28. ^ "Award Extract - Australian Honours Search Facility". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  29. ^ "Emeritus Professor Alec Tzannes". UNSW Sites. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  30. ^ "Alec Tzannes wins 2018". Dezeen. 15 June 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  31. ^ "Tzannes: Adaptive Urban Architecture and Design". ArchDaily. 28 November 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2026.


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