Australian architects who shone at the World Architecture Festival awards in Barcelona hope the accolades will lead to more respect in Australia and more daring projects.
Speaking to Architecture and Design from Paris, winning Allen Jack + Cottier architect, Michael Heenan, said the respect he and others received overseas was something they did not regularly obtain in Australia.
"When we go overseas we are favoured for our capabilities and that isn't happening in Australia, that respect we get when you walk into a room - and every word you say is taken as an important comment on design - that doesn't happen in Australia."
Heenan's winning project, a $1 million sport and recreation centre in Berry beat stiff competition from around the world including the Wimbledon centre court redevelopment. "It's nice to break out the bows that bind, quite often we find ourselves trying to work with anchors tied around our neck," said Heenan. "We have to get the anchors off to be creative."
Hennan said winning an award such as this for a project of this scale was even more satisfying, as it showed that no matter what size project, the principles remain the same. "As long as you work on a project in a really integrated way, so that no one major point dominates, listening to the client and spending time thinking on the site, you can receive justification for your design on the world stage," he said.
Fellow Australian winner, John Choi, from Manly firm Choi Ropiha said the awards had been a great day for Australian architecture, and was hopeful they would lead to more exciting opportunities. Choi Ropiha won in the 'new and old' section for their work on the $25 million redevelopment of the TKTS Booth and Father Duffy Square creating a new centre for Times Square, one of the world's most popular and iconic destinations.
"These awards are important, as increasingly our partners and public clients are wanting things that are exceptional and designs that are of an international standard. To get recognition in that way helps us to find more clients and more opportunities for projects of that level."
Choi said Australians, despite having a strong presence at the awards, were still considered a novelty on the international design stage. "I think Australia is producing some the world's best housing and residential projects, but our public projects are still behind and that is mainly because there is a lack of maturity in our public sector, they are more risk adverse, than wanting to commission an exceptional project, but hopefully that is changing".
