The Crystalbrook Riley Hotel, designed by CA Architects and ThomsonAdsett, won the Eddie Oribin Award for Building of the Year at the Far North Queensland Regional Architecture Awards 2023. In addition to the top gong, the Cairns hotel also received a regional commendation for Commercial Architecture.

Featuring fully refurbished accommodation wings housing 256 rooms with ancillary functions below, and an expansive lagoon pool with varying sculptural decks at different levels, the project also includes a new accommodation tower housing an additional 55 rooms.

The new glazed, sculpted tower was described by the jury as “cleverly disparate from the renovated building behind”.

“By challenging local town planning concepts and positioning this ambitious tower on the corner of the site, the negative space between the buildings has taken on a new life, and the tower acts as a significant marker along the Cairns foreshore landscape,” the jury says.

Newman Catholic College, designed by TPG Architects, was awarded Far North Queensland Regional Project of the Year as well as a regional commendation in Educational Architecture.

The first Catholic school in Australia co-located on a university campus, the Smithfield college was applauded by the jury as an exemplar of tropical architecture in the education sector, and one which masterfully responds to its varied contexts while successfully operating in its hot climate.

“From the highway ‘public face’, the building boasts a scale of strength and grandeur that allows the school to be identified from a distance and at speed,” the jury says.

“From the playing fields… the building continues to create its own identity above, giving the bystander small glimpses of the activity taking place inside, while proportionally still working at a larger scale.”

“Every element appears to have a dual function. The jury is excited to see the growth of the school as these thoughtful new stages are revealed,” the judges says.

St. Mary's Catholic College – Hugh O'Brien Centre, designed by Clarke and Prince, was named the People’s Choice Award winner, and also received a regional commendation in Educational Architecture.

“...Hugh O’Brien Centre is an exercise in detailed and cohesive coordination of building structure and services within a restrictive budget; it delivers a finish that is generous and warm,” the jury says.

The region’s commended projects have now been shortlisted for the Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland Architecture Awards. The state award winners will be announced on June 22, 2023.