Jury comment
This apartment in West Melbourne by Adrian Amore Architects is a work of art – a supremely impressive space. The architect has given the warehouse conversion a unique and refreshing take. The design is not heavy handed; it is sinuous and delicate, showing restraint in its use of a limited colour palette of muted tones. The use of light and the juxtaposition of soft and hard forms help to create a truly breathtaking living experience. The apartment is heavily layered with hidden components that continue to reveal themselves. These elements ultimately engage the inhabitant, creating breathtaking spatial pauses through occupation. Loft Apartment is an exemplary design that is truly a breath of fresh air.
Design statement
Walls tear, bend and converge in this loft apartment housed in a former butter factory in West Melbourne. A central, sculptural staircase twists dramatically and soars up towards a recreational roof terrace that overlooks the city of Melbourne. The design concept of this apartment evolved as an intuitive response to the space, which initially had a deep steel truss that divided it in two, and a low roof to the south. These elements made it difficult to convert the space into a three-bedroom apartment as specified in the brief. After some analysis, the client decided to remove the truss. This provided new opportunities and it was suddenly possible to create a dynamic space. Part of the brief also required incorporating a recreational rooftop terrace for dining, entertaining and sunbaking. It was important that this roof deck had some visual connectivity with the kitchen and living spaces, so it was integrated rather than separated and disconnected. What resulted was a ceiling void that orchestrated this connectivity as well as dramatized the scale of the interior. An essentially open ground-floor plan is defined by bending and wrapping walls that hide a bathroom, laundry and storage. Sliding doors further create the opportunity for expanding or containing, depending on how the ground floor is used, whether it be as a studio, bedroom or for entertaining.
The Residential Design award is supported by Smeg. The Australian Interior Design Awards are presented by the Design Institute of Australia, DesignEX and Artichoke magazine. For more images of this project, see the Australian Interior Design Awards gallery.
