2017 Australian Interior Design Awards announced

An ambitious, sculptural and dramatic residence has taken out the Premier Award at the 2017 Australian Interior Design Awards. With inventive workspaces, distinguished public exhibits and state-of-the-art facilities amongst the awarded projects, the future of Australian interior design is in safe hands.

On Friday 9 June, the 14th annual Australian Interior Design Awards were presented at a gala celebration in Melbourne, which was attended by more than 500 esteemed interior design and architecture practitioners and professionals.

The jury for the Award for Interior Design Impact comprised Geraldine Maher (Jackson Interiors), Roger Poole (Roger Poole Architects), Sue Wittenoom (The Soft Build) and the late Madeline Lester (Madeline Lester and Associates).

Smart Design Studio’s Indigo Slam received the Premier Award for Australian Interior Design, with the jury “unable to find fault” with the home’s impeccable composition.

“This project is a private residence, but also hosts events for the client’s art gallery, celebrating unconventional domesticity through dual functionality,” said the jury.

The home is “defined as much by a sense of a thoughtful restraint, as it is by immaculate detailing.” Indigo Slam was also awarded for Residential Design, making it the only project to collect multiple national gongs.

The prestigious Award for Interior Design Impact celebrates the transformative effect that design can have on organisational outcomes. This year’s jury recognised two projects that confound the conventional expectations of their typologies; the museum exhibit and the serviced office.

Woods Bagot was awarded for Paramount by The Office Space, an exemplar design that forms “the kind of private nest that knowledge workers dream about,” while The First Peoples exhibition, by Museums Victoria Design Studio, elevates “a permanent exhibit into the magic and theatre … of a biennale pavilion.”

The award for Workplace Design was shared by two projects, the EDG Forum by Archer Office and Frasers Property Australia by BVN. Both projects feature ‘third spaces’ – areas that the jury noted “eschew a traditional workstation arrangement in favour of a configuration that promotes serendipitous interaction.”

A mere two years old, Brad Swartz Architects is one to watch, having received the 2017 award for Emerging Interior Design Practice. The jury praised Brad for his “passion for small footprint living, which responds to Australia’s housing affordability crisis and in doing so, actively offers solutions.”

Head to the Design Institute of Australia website for more details.

Full List:

Premier Award for Australian Interior Design

Smart Design Studio for Indigo Slam, NSW

Interior Design Impact Awards

Woods Bagot for Paramount by The Office Space, NSW

Museums Victoria Design Studio for First Peoples, VIC

Sustainability Advancement Award

Cox Architecture for University of Queensland Oral Health Centre, QLD

Emerging Interior Design Practice

Award

Brad Swartz Architects, NSW

Commendations

Amber Road, NSW

BoardGrove Architects , VIC

Adam Kane Architects, VIC

Residential Design

Award

Smart Design Studio for Indigo Slam, NSW

Commendations

Brad Swartz Architects for Darling Point Apartment, NSW

Eugene Cheah Architecture for Henry Street House, VIC

Doherty Design Studio in collaboration with Inarc Architects for Fitzroy Residence, VIC

SJB for A Private Residence, NSW

SJB for Redfern Terrace, NSW

John Wardle Architects for Freshwater Apartment, VIC

Architects EAT for Moving House, VIC

Residential Decoration

Award

SJB for A Private Residence, NSW

Commendations

Templeton Architecture for Little Parndon, VIC

Doherty Design Studio for Fitzroy Residence, VIC

Carole Whiting and Steven Whiting for Hotham, VIC

Hospitality Design

Award

DesignOffice for Higher Ground, VIC

Commendations

Genesin Studio for Antica Pizzeria e Cucina, SA

Flack Studio for Caravan, Seoul, KOREA

George Livissianis for The Dolphin Hotel, NSW

Ritz&Ghougassian for Morris and Heath, VIC

DesignOffice for Handpicked Wines, NSW

Karen Abernethy Architects with Louisa Macleod for Humming Puppy Sydney, NSW

Ritz&Ghougassian for Penta, VIC

Retail Design

Award

George Livissianis for Jac + Jack, NSW

Commendations

Flack Studio for Monk House Design, VIC

Joanne Motee for Lost in Seasons, VIC

Landini Associates for The Kitchens, QLD

Karen Abernethy Architects with Louisa Macleod for Búl, QLD

Public Design

Award

PTID for StudioFive, VIC

Commendations

BVN for UQ Forgan Smith West Wing Refurbishment, QLD

Peter Hunt Daryl Jackson (Joint Venture) Architects (PHDJ) for Supreme Court of Western Australia, WA

Cox Architecture for University of Queensland Oral Health Centre, QLD

BVN for The Sanctuary, Bunurong Memorial Park, VIC

BVN for Woollahra Library, NSW

ARM + Architectus for Arts West, University of Melbourne, VIC

Workplace Design

Awards

Archer Office for The EDG Forum, NSW

BVN for Frasers Property Australia Head Office, NSW

Commendations

Warren and Mahoney Architects Australia for TVNZ Television Network Centre Refurbishment, NZ

HASSELL for Swiss Re, Sydney, NSW

Gensler for Dropbox Sydney, NSW

Bates Smart for Salvation Army, NSW

Installation Design

Award

StudioPlusThree for Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives, NSW

Commendations

Aileen Sage Architects with Michelle Tabet for The Pool, ITALY

Trigger for Parramatta Park Dairy Cottage Installations, NSW

Archier for Denfair Stand For Rakumba Lighting, VIC

Cox Architecture for Wild State Exhibition Queensland Museum, QLD

Best of State Awards for Residential Design

Victoria – Eugene Cheah Architecture for Henry Street House

Queensland – Chloe Naughton for Inverdon House

New South Wales – Smart Design Studio for Indigo Slam

Best of State Awards for Commercial Design

Victoria – DesignOffice for Higher Ground

South Australia – Genesin Studio for Antica Pizzeria e Cucina

Queensland – BVN for UQ Forgan Smith West Wing Refurbishment

Western Australia – Peter Hunt Daryl Jackson (Joint Venture) Architects (PHDJ) for Supreme Court of Western Australia

New South Wales – Archer Office for The EDG Forum

Tasmania – Liminal Spaces for University of Tasmania Executive Workplace Renewal

Best International Design Award

Warren and Mahoney Architects Australia for TVNZ Television Network Centre Refurbishment, NZ