Inaugural Designers Australia Awards winners announced

The Design Institute of Australia has announced the winners for its inaugural Designers Australia Awards.

In an industry first, the awards dispense with tradition design disciplines such as industrial, interior, graphic, digital, product, environmental, textile, fashion, and others.

Instead, the awards emphasize the best design thinking and processes applied across projects, which are divided into three-cross disciplinary categories: Place, representing the places we live, work and play; Use, which describe the things we use; and Interact, which depict who and what we interact with.

Bates Smart was awarded winner of the Place category for the Gandel Wing at Melbourne’s Cabrini Hospital. “The new Gandel Wing’s natural finishes, rounded edges and neutral palette illustrate the power of buildings that can heal us,” said judges Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano. “The comforting interiors have been so thoughtfully reimagined that we thought it was a sustainable hotel concept — now that’s somewhere one should check-in! It’s time that hospital and hospitality go hand in hand.”

In the Use category, Design by Them took the top prize for DL Range by Gibson Karlo and Dion Lee. Juror Tuba Kocaturk said the range “presents a timeless process of experimentation with form and materials which brings together functional and purposeful production techniques from fashion and industrial design, translated into an innovative marriage of comfort and inspirational design.”

And finally Monash University XYX Lab was named winner of the Interact category for their HyperSext City exhibition. The judges found it “a testament to the changing role and position of design, moving from the traditional concept of a tangible product through to orchestration of new interactions and experiences,” Kocaturk said.

The judging panel comprised local and international design leaders including Alessandra Baldereschil, Susanna Bilardo, Lisa Cahill, Gavin Campbell, Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, Marcus Fairs, John Gertsakis, Rafael Gomez, Peta Heffernan, Fenella Kernebone, Tuba Kocaturk, Scott Mayson, Nicole Monks, Lorenzo Palmeri, and Quan Payne.

The winners are:

Place

Winner

Bates Smart for Gandel Wing, Cabrini

Awards of Merit

Billard Leece Partnership for Susan Wakil Health Building

Cox Architecture for Parmelia Hilton Hotel, Sydney Coliseum Theatre (West HQ),

Cox Architecture and Neeson Murcutt and Neille for Australian Museum Project Discovery

Danielle Brustman for Brighton Street Early Learning

DesiginInc Adelaide for DesiginInc Adelaide Studio

Elenberg Fraser for Market Lane

Latitude for SBB

Mata Design Studio for Applecross Residence

Mycelium Studios for Mycelium Studios

Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Glenn Murcutt for MPavilion 2019

Phillips Pilkington Architects for Gunditj Mirring Keeping Place

Russell and George for Sarah and Sebastian

Skeehan Studio for Canberra Glassworks Shop

Studio-Gram for The Guardsman

Walter Brooke and Associates and Genesin Studio for ITL

Walter Brooke and Associates and Hecker Guthrie for EOS

Woods Bagot for Central Park Tower Refurbishment

Zwei Interiors Architecture for body of work

Use

Winner

Design By Them for DL Range by Gibson Karlo and Dion Lee

Awards of Merit

Cobalt Design for Keep Cup Thermal Cup and Press Fit Lid

Design By Them for August Lounges by Gibson Karlo

Hare and Klein for Bridge Table

Jam Factory for Solute Pendant Light

JDT Design for LEGO 3D printed Spinner

Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Board Grove Architects for MPavilion 2020 Stool Dolly

Skeehan Studio for Rou House, and Nave Collection

Yellow Goat Design for H2O

Interact

Winner

Monash University XYX Lab for HyperSext City

Awards of Merit

Ian Wong for 100 Objects and I-conic

United Studio for Markr

President’s Award

Edward Linacre for contritution to the profession

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