Powerhouse Design Awards Winners Announced as Sydney Design Week 2025 Launches

The winners of two major Powerhouse design initiatives — the Holdmark Innovation Award and the Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator — have been announced at the launch of Sydney Design Week 2025.

Architecture firm Hassell received the $10,000 Holdmark Innovation Award for First Building, while industrial designer Olson Hamilton-Smith was named the recipient of the Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator for his project FOLDEE.

Presented by Powerhouse and supported by Sydney Design Week Principal Partner Holdmark Property Group, the Holdmark Innovation Award recognises excellence and innovation in the built environment.

This year’s selection committee included Youssofzay Hart Co-Director Belqis Youssofzay, Powerhouse Senior Exhibition Curator Keinton Butler, Holdmark Property Group Chief Operating Officer Kevin Nassif, Government Architect NSW Director of Design Excellence Olivia Hyde and Western Sydney University’s Lang Walker Endowed Chair in Urban Transformation Professor Greg Morrison.

Hassell’s First Building is a collaborative space for government, industry and research to incubate innovative manufacturing projects. It is the first completed building in Bradfield City Centre, Australia’s first new city in a century. Designed and built using circular economy principles, the project prioritises sustainability. Conceived as a ‘kit of parts’, the building minimises waste and allows for flexible adaptation, repurposing, relocation or disassembly — setting a new benchmark for sustainable urban development.

First Building, housing Stage 1 of the Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility (AMRF), offers shared facilities with cutting-edge technology, training and networks to drive innovation in Bradfield. Its construction had a significant social and economic impact including over $12 million spent with local Western Sydney businesses and more than $3.5 million with First Nations businesses.

“First Building demonstrates how community design and industry can move together: a Country-centred approach, powered by advanced manufacturing and designed for disassembly,” said Kevin Nassif, Chief Operating Officer of Holdmark Property Group.

“It demonstrates a circular, low-carbon path that creates skilled jobs and new enterprise in Western Sydney. As Principal Partner of Sydney Design Week, Holdmark is proud that this year’s recipient recognises real-world innovations that build stronger, more connected communities.”

“As architects, designing the first building in a new city is both a profound responsibility and a rare opportunity to leave a lasting legacy,” said Hassell’s Managing Director, Liz Westgarth.

“We are proud to have created a building that directly responds to the challenges of our climate and our urban environment. The First Building provides more than a place for people to work and innovate — it sets a benchmark. It demonstrates that new cities can be imagined and built differently: with sustainability, adaptability and community at their core. Most importantly, it sets out a vision for the kind of future we want to create.”

Supported by a generous bequest from Carl and Judy Nielsen, the Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator is an annual Powerhouse program recognising outstanding sustainable industrial design. It offers an emerging Australian designer a tailor-made nine-month residency to develop a product, guided by Industrial Designer and Founder of IDX SYD Ed Ko. The selection panel comprised Ko, Powerhouse Curator Angelique Hutchison and Nielsen Design Associates Director Adam Laws.

Hamilton-Smith’s project, FOLDEE, is Australia’s first locally designed and manufactured folding cargo bike. Easier to transport and store than traditional bicycles, FOLDEE promotes cycling as a low-emissions transport option. Designed and built in Melbourne by an interdisciplinary team, the bike features a double-hinge folding mechanism and uses 100% recyclable steel for compact, sustainable design and storage.

“Olson’s project is in a relatively small but growing area of a highly competitive market,” said Adam Laws, Director at Nielsen Design Associates.

“Its time is now with low impact environmental solutions being encouraged and sought after. The Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator adds to Olsen’s momentum by assisting with the commercial optimisation of the FOLDEE lightweight folding cargo bicycle.”

Sydney Design Week 2025 presents a program of talks, tours and industry workshops across Sydney.

This year’s festival, titled ‘Community Design’, brings together the world’s leading architects, designers and photographers to explore how design can foster connection, resilience and cultural identity in a changing world. Headline speakers include Li Hu and Huang Wenjing of Beijing-based OPEN Architecture, acclaimed Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan, Thai landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom, Professor Elizabeth Mossop of Living Lab Northern Rivers, Phillip Birtles from Sydney Water, John Choi from Choi Studio, industrial designer David Caon of Caon Design Office and typographer Vincent Chan.

The festival is presented with the support of Principal Partner Holdmark Property Group, Foundational University Partners University of Technology Sydney and Western Sydney University, Festival Partner City of Parramatta and Accommodation Partner Ace Hotel Sydney.

Program Information

Language Typographies | Vincent Chan
Australian type designer Vincent Chan joins local collaborators to discuss a recent multilingual project featuring text in Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Dharug and Vietnamese.
Monday 22 September 2025
6.30–7.30pm, Parramatta Town Hall
$10, Registration

Sensing Technologies | Bradfield
Industrial designer David Caon, Hassell and Industrial Design Xchange (IDX SYD) host an industry afternoon at the Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility (AMRF) in Bradfield, Australia’s newest city.
Monday 22 September 2025
1–7.30pm, Advanced Manufacturing Readiness Facility
Adult $30, Registration

Shared Spaces | Iwan Baan
Leading Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan presents his expansive practice exploring public buildings and the communities that interact with them.
Tuesday 23 September 2025
6.30–7.30pm, UTS Great Hall
$10, Registration

Porous Cities | Kotchakorn Voraakhom
Arts centres, canal gardens and water-collecting parks feature in this conversation on architecture and landscape design for delta and flood-prone cities.
Wednesday 24 September 2025
6.30–7.30pm, Parramatta Town Hall
$10, Registration

More information: powerhouse.com.au/program/sydney-design-week