It’s been 12 years since their inception, and many entries later, the Architecture & Design Sustainability Awards have finally come of age.
This year it was all about form and function – oddly enough, not something that these awards have become accustomed to, and so from an original pool of 199 entries, our judging panel whittled that down to 37 finalists – from which the 15 winners were chosen.
Unlike most years, 2018 did not produce any controversies- which was both odd and refreshing, so whole there were no judging ‘blow-ups’ or last minute ‘issues’.
Having said that, the list of winners were not only highly deserved – they were in many ways, very much expected.
In fact, the judges’ comments themselves bely the reality of the quality of the winners.
For example, for the winner of Single Dwelling: ‘Drumkerin’ by Mahalath Halperin Architects, the judges wrote:
“Drumkerin House impressed the judges due to a number of factors including its comprehensive passive solar approach, the advocacy undertaken by the client/architect to achieve specific outcomes with local government and above all, the monitoring and evaluation undertaken to validate the actual performance of the home post completion. This home is evidently a labour of love whereby any less thought, care and passion would not have resulted in the great outcomes achieved.”
Another judge said: Ticking all the boxes in a sustainable building is - thankfully - increasingly common. Buildings that are restorative, contributing to restoring a functioning environment, are rarer. Really uncommon are restorative buildings that are both funky, biophilic, and very human, and Drumkerin is all those things.
As for the winner of the winner of the Multiple Dwelling category, ‘The Prince’s Terrace Adelaide’ – Defence Housing Australia, the judges wrote:
This residential project impressed the judges with its innovative design, sound sustainability strategy, and range of quantified benefits including reduced energy use, lower water use, a great location with local transport and amenities, and a vastly reduced carbon footprint. Not only does this project blend rich, local heritage with contemporary living, but it has achieved independent certification of its sustainability attributes.
Innovation and technology were also themes that were popular with the judges.
According to one judges, insofar as the Innovation/Application category winner ‘e-Board’ by Winya Indigenous Furniture went: e-Board closes the loop on a terrifyingly wasteful process by capturing the furniture that is regularly discarded as offices are renovated and using it to create board for new furniture. Sustainable manufacturing processes further supports the beauty of the products.
When it came to the Education and Research category, one judge wrote about the winner, Macquarie University Incubator’ by Architectus
It is aspirational to see such a natural and light filled timber structure be home to an incubator of the future ideas and imaginings needed to create a sustainable horizon.
With beautiful use of certified timber, natural ventilation, light and native plantings, this is a beautiful building. The other unique stand out is the way in which the design process was one of collaboration and that the fact it can be disassembled with minimal waste for future re-use.
Congratulations on a beautiful building.
And it wasn’t only the winners. Runners up such as Jenny’s House by Light House Architecture & Science in the Single Dwelling (new) category were lauded
"Achieving an 8.2 star rating in a difficult orientation, and an air tightness of 3.3 air changes per hour whilst using only conventional materials, Jenny's House shows the rest of the industry that big gains possible when sustainability is kept front and centre during both design and construction stages.
The house includes many innovative ideas, including the use of phase change materials, heat shifting from the attic to warm under the Cupolex ground slab, and a front yard outdoor dining area - which is a refreshing change from the front- of-house-as- fortress mentality.
In summary, Jenny's House provides a template for smart, cost effective, efficient living for the domestic market", said one judge.
And as for the actual Gala Awards night held at The Star, the overwhelming consensus by all the guests was that it has set a new benchmark for industry awards.
As we wrote earlier today:
Our MC Tone Wheeler did a fantastic job of carrying us through the awards, where 17 well-deserving winners were honoured. A big congratulations not only to our winners, but to our shortlist as a whole. We saw an excellent standard of design in many of this year's entries, and we hope to see many more for next year's awards. Our 12 esteemed judges did a great job sorting through the entries and we know they had a great time speculating who last night's winners would be!
But no need to take my word for it, the full list of winners in the 2018 Sustainability Awards are below:
Smart Building, sponsored by EBSA: ‘8 Chifley Square’ - Lippman Partnership/Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners
Single Dwelling (New), sponsored by Hyne Timber: ‘Drumkerin’ - Mahalath Halperin Architects
Achievement of Merit, sponsored by Innowood: Humberto Urriola, Founder of Atlantis Corporation
Single Dwelling, Addition/Alteration, sponsored by Stormtech: ‘Passive Butterfly’ – EME Design
Public & Urban Design, sponsored by Elton Group: ‘krakani lumi’ – Taylor and Hinds Architects
Multiple Dwelling, sponsored by WoodSolutions: ‘The Prince’s Terrace Adelaide’ – Defence Housing Australia
Landscape/Biophilia, sponsored by Premier Hydropavers: ‘Phoenix Rooftop’ – Bent Architecture
Interior Architecture, sponsored by Woven Image: ‘The Burcham’ – Stable Innovations
Innovation/Application, sponsored by Viridian: ‘e-Board’ – Winya Indigenous Furniture
Healthcare, sponsored by Gerard Lighting: Wallen Veterinary Hospital – Crosshatch
Green Building of the Year, sponsored by Kingspan: ‘The Prince’s Terrace Adelaide’ – Defence Housing Australia
Education & Research, sponsored by ARCPANEL: ‘Macquarie University Incubator’ – Architectus
Commercial, sponsored by Tarkett: ‘One Malop Street’ – Aurecon
Best of the Best, sponsored by Zip Water: ‘Passive Butterfly’ - EME Design
Emerging Architect of the Year, sponsored by HP: Jean Graham, Winter Architecture
The 2018 Sustainability Awards proved to be a huge hit and while this is perhaps the last time they will be held in this format, it would not be erroneous to say that these were the best awards in their 12 year history.
As one guest noted on the night, "these awards have now set the benchmark for 2019 and beyond".
