25th Australian Timber Design Award winners
Friday 18 Oct 2024
The Annual Australian Timber Design Award winners for 2024 were
announced this week at View by Sydney in Walsh Bay. Professor
Greg Nolan from the University of Tasmania was MC for the evening.
Bates Smart was the winner of the Grand Prix for their
outstanding Embassy of Australia in Washington D.C.
The design of the new Embassy of Australia in Washington D.C. was
complex, necessitating a delicate balance between cultural
representation, iconic civic presence and practical security
considerations. The inspiration came from Australia’s iconic
landscape and embodies the essence of the vast continent. The
building’s transparency was intended to capture the inherent
Australian values of welcomeness and trust, while the interior’s
expansive atmosphere embodies the vastness of the Australian landscape.
At the heart of the 20,000 square metre building, a large atrium serves
as an orienting space displaying a powerful connection between the
ground plane and the sky. This central atrium establishes a north south
axial arrangement of representational spaces where every visitor is
granted an equally immersive experience on entry.
The main representational spaces are defined by strong materiality with
Australian timber wall panels, that provide both air reticulation and
sound absorption, organised around a series of textured horizontal bands
that transition from rough to smooth. This mirrors the protective
qualities of the bark during the eucalypt forest's cycle of growth, burn
and regrowth. Intricate metallic filigree screens have been sensitively
deployed to mediate the interplay of light and shadow in social breakout
and office spaces.
Award winners:
- Overall Winner – Embassy of Australia, Washington
D.C. by Bates Smart
Merits:
- People’s Choice – Michael Kirby Building -
Macquarie University Law School by Hassell Studio and FDC Construction
(NSW)
- Sustainability – Berninneit Cultural and Community
Centre by Jackson Clements Burrows
- International Projects – Embassy of Australia,
Washington D.C. by Bates Smart
- Rising Star – Sarah Shearman from Brother Nature
Design for River House
Excellence in Timber Applications:
- Residential Class 1 – New Building – Taroona
House by Archier
- Residential Class 1 – Alterations & Additions
– Verandah Terraces by Phorm architecture + design
- Fit Out - Residential – Northcote House by LLDS and
Power to Make
- Standalone Structure – Fernery at Ballarat Botanic
Gardens by BALANCE Architecture & Interior Design
- Commercial Building – T3 Collingwood by Hines, AECOM,
JCB and Icon
- Public Building – Michael Kirby Building -
Macquarie University Law School by Hassell Studio and FDC Construction
(NSW)
- Fit Out - Commercial and Public – Embassy of
Australia, Washington D.C. by Bates Smart
- Furniture & Joinery - Holocene House by CplusC
Architects + Builders
Excellence in Timber Products:
- Australian Certified Timber – Irrawaddy by Incidental
Architecture
- Recycled Timber – First Steps Count Child and
Community Centre by Austin McFarland Architects
Greg Nolan is Professor of Architecture at the University of Tasmania's
School of Architecture and Design. He is also the Director of the
University's Centre for Sustainable Architecture with Wood, a
multidisciplinary research and development group that aspires to be a
national leader in sustainable architectural design, building and
applications with wood.
The Australian Timber Industry would like to extend gratitude to our
panel of judges, sponsors and those who entered projects.
For a complete list of winners, finalists, and the awards magazine
eBook, visit www.timberawards.com.au.
Source: Timber Development Association
Image credit: Joe Fletcher / TDA
|
