2016 Victorian Architecture Awards Winners Announced
The Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects announced the winners of the 2016 Victorian Architecture Awards last week on the 24th of June. Named awards, awards and commendations were presented across 12 categories representing Victoria’s exemplary architecture.
Juries noted that a focus on community was evident in all categories, cleverly showcasing architecture’s ability to contribute to the public realm in a variety of positive and innovative ways. Vanessa Bird, Victorian Chapter President stated that it is ’particularly heartening to see architects demonstrating a thinking beyond a specific site to produce benefits for the wider community.’
Of the 197 entries, approximately 30 percent were judged to be worthy of an Award or Commendation. Independent juries handed out a total of 29 awards and 17 commendations in addition to the Regional Prize, Melbourne Prize, and the coveted Victorian Architecture Medal.
2016 Institute Gold Medallists, ARM Architecture, were awarded their unprecedented sixth Victorian Medal for the Geelong Library & Heritage Centre, which also took home the Regional Prize and both the Interior Architecture and Public Architecture Named Awards.
Hamish Lyon, Chair of Juries described it as ’an exemplar public project and a significant new landmark for the City of Geelong. A striking piece of architecture and major community hub, it has elevated the role of public architecture for both Geelong and the wider regional community.’
The theme of community was also evident in the Residential Architecture categories. Mel Bright, Residential Architecture Houses – New Jury Chair was ‘encouraged that architects are pushing their clients to understand that their private house is more than just real estate and quantity of bedrooms. There is a role to play in the greater context and that, even at the scale of a private home, there is opportunity for the project to make a positive contribution to its place and to local communities.’
The 2016 Enduring Architecture Award was awarded to Heide II, originally designed by the late Neil Everist and David McGlashan of McGlashan Everist in 1963. The clients desired a ‘gallery to be lived in’, intending for the house to one day be transformed into a public art gallery.
This vision is now a reality with the creation of the major cultural institution – Heide Museum of Modern Art. The extended museum facilities, garden walks and sculpture-park now offer a genuine community place in the midst of Melbourne’s growing suburban landscape.
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