Malaysia – Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd (public service architecture / public services development)

Out of the 5-Star winners, a total of 43, one from each award category, have also been selected to represent the Asia Pacific region in the 2013 International ‘World’s Best’ Property Awards, to be held in London in December.

Beijing, China – Xingchuang Development Co Ltd (mixed-use architecture)

“The record level of participation that we’ve seen from Asia this year has elevated the caliber of this competition. With the bar set so high, the other regions have their work cut out for them if they hope to outshine Asia in the International Property Awards final event,” says Stuart Shield, President of the International Property Awards.

Singapore – Cameron Woo Design (interior design apartment)

Out of the top winners selected to compete in the International edition, the highest numbers have come from Malaysia, India and China. Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam have also come out strong.  Australian companies took home 23 awards.  Winners included FJMT, Archer + Wright, CBRE and more.

Hong Kong – The XXS Ltd (office interior)

In 2012, the region was awarded a total of 13 or 30 per cent of the World’s Best Awards, doubling or even tripling the number of awards some of the other regions took home.

Asia Pacific Property Awards
propertyawards.net

Hero Image: Singapore – SP Setia International (S) Pte Ltd (apartment development)

12►

Cavit & Co.

cavitco.com.au

Working respectfully within heritage, budget and time contraints to deliver brand new rooms into a building that was built over 100 years ago, the design team led by Brenton Smith achieved remarkable results.

We’ll be bringing you more on the refurbishment soon!

Bates Smart

batessmart.com.au

Sebel Pier One

sebelpierone.com.au

Some of those involved in creating a unique table setting were Hecker Guthrie, Schiavello, Stephen Akehurst Associates, Opera Australia, Country Road, Fenton & Fenton, Space Furniture, Julia deVille for Sophie Gannon Gallery.

12►

Nicky Lobo: Firstly, can you tell me how your new ‘Foliar’ wall treatment for Wovin Wall came about?

Adam Cornish: This project was actually a truly organic process. After some initial sketches and drawings, we produced and tested samples continuously. In fact, I rarely touched my computer for most of this initial stage, instead, I was hand cutting a lot of materials and working hands-on. Only then did I return to my computer to finalise the project. It was a very wholesome and grass-roots process.

NL: Have you designed anything like this before?

AC: No, not really. I quite simply took the ‘wall surface’ brief and ran with an idea. I was inspired by nature, by plants and their differing shapes – whether they are opening, closing or growing. I then combined this idea with the belief that you don’t have to have a wall that is just simply flat. The idea is that one day you can have a wall that is closed, the next day it can be open, the next semi-open, and so on. It is extremely playful and allows the shapes of the natural foliage to create interest.

NL: So is this more of a decorative wall rather than an acoustic wall?

AC: Well yes, it is very visual. And I intend it be used for both residential and commercial projects. It is almost an inter-changeable artwork. It is also a snap-fit structure, and is easy to disassemble. It can also be shipped anywhere around the world. It was a beautiful project to create.  I wanted to create a project that could spread organically, almost like algae. In fact, the Lily flower that was growing in my backyard inspired me during the stages of my design.

NL: What was the biggest challenge for you in designing this?

AC: Detail. Making sure it works every time, in every space. And making sure the mechanisms work of course.

NL: What do you think of Milan?

AC: It is the dream to come over here and work for these large international companies. But recently, a lot of young Australian designers are looking to work closer to home, with companies in Australia. The need to travel for design is not essential these days. And with international distribution, this is now possible. So it is just great to come over here and work with an Australian company.

NL: And just quickly, a game of word association:

Dog: Cat

Sustainability: Core

Bad Design: Ruin

Culture: Travel

Home: Melbourne

Australia: Home

Milan: interesting

Finally, what’s the best pick of Milan this year?

Magis. I love this company and the way they approach design.

Adam Cornish

adamcornish.com

Wovin Wall

wovinwall.com

The newest retail addition to Melbourne’s Highpoint Shopping Centre is an ambitious multi-brand store that sits within a stark 990sqm space. Alexander has masterfully used the cavernous shell to his advantage and his resulting design concept is as functional as it is memorable.

“I like to call it a shop with vignettes,” he explains. “So customers are met with these little ‘stories’ as they walk through it.” Each of these vignettes has its own clearly defined design identity, which differentiates one brand from the next. It’s a clever wayfinding strategy that essentially orders the space into six zones.

Bright colour punctuates each zone and Alexander has been inventive with his material palette. A red shipping container activates an otherwise dead corner of the fit out and shoes are displayed on glass panels that wrap around smart timber storage systems. The middle of the store even boasts a timber-lined blue shipping container that serves as a rustic espresso bar.

These design flourishes inject just the right amount of playfulness into the fit out, but the overall result is far from chaotic. The space has a lightness to it that is reinforced by generous circulation paths and elegant timber-clad columns. It is genuinely inviting and a lot subtler than what one would initially expect.

The lack of a traditional storefront also adds to this sense of lightness. But then again, Alexander didn’t want customers to feel like they were walking into a billboard. “We’re bombarded with so much crap everyday that if you give customers too much information they’ll just switch off,” he says. “But if they get a feel from an interior then they’re instantly engaged.”

RAD Studio

radstudio.com.au

Glue Store

gluestore.com.au

Images © Glue Store and RAD Studio

The Australian, family-owned manufacturer of steel storage systems brings a bold yet classic aesthetic to a familiar office furniture archetype. Through the variety of finishes and options offered, the Statewide collection proves itself flexible.

Across each colour option comes a vast selection of storage products such as lockers, cupboards, tambour door cupboards, mobile caddies and planter boxes.

All products can be customised to suit their application, which in the constantly evolving workplace becomes more and more necessary.

As one of the only remaining Australian manufacturers of vertical filing cabinets their business model is based around selling at a wholesale price point, providing quality and great looking products for the design community.

Statewide Office Furniture

statewideoffice.com.au

Categories include: Public (New and Alts & Adds), Commercial, Interior, Residential (New Houses, Alts & Adds and Multiple Housing), Heritage, Small Project, Sustainable Architecture and Urban Design and the Melbourne Prize and Regional Prize.

Also to be awarded on the night is the prestigious Victorian Architecture Medal which is selected as the best project of the year from the field of awarded projects and the ColorBond® Award for Steel Architecture.

‘Once again we have a record number of projects entered in the Awards and a record number shortlisted by our hard-working juries.

‘I am genuinely encouraged by the depth of talent and the inventiveness of Victorian architects and I envy the jurors that are very fortunate to be able to visit so many extraordinary projects during the deliberation process,’ Victorian Chapter President, Jon Clements said.

All 2013 Victorian Award winners will be announced on Friday 21 June at Peninsula, Shed 14 Central Pier, Docklands with Named and Architecture Award winners progressing to the National Architecture Awards to be presented on Thursday 7 November at the Sydney Opera House.

Tickets for the Victorian Architecture Awards presentation night are now on sale and available to purchase online by visiting www.vicawards.architecture.com.au/.

Designed by Ross Santa Maria, the brief was to create a contemporary restaurant that would stand-alone as one of Perth’s finest dining venues.

“It had to capture the latest in interior design ideas combining the sound of tranquil water with the warmth of naked flames and be a world class leading restaurant, that could comfortably seat up to 150 guests” explains Santa Maria.

According to Santa Maria, acoustics and the control of light levels were priority to create the ambience required and working with HALO permitted access to source the best architectural and decorative lighting from around the world. Featuring luminaires by Leds-C4 (Spain), Innermost (UK), MODO (Italy), Dix Heures Dix (France), Selux (Germany), Schmitz (Germany) and Aqua Creations (Israel), this lavishly inviting space is one to check out whenever in Perth.

Sheer fabric curtains provide ethereal dining booths for added intimacy. Each booth features a vibrant red hand-strapped fabric MODO Florinda suspension lamp.

Innermost Beads and Aqua Creations Morning Glory’s are perfect embellishments for enhancing gold accents within the space. Designed by Winnie Lui, Beads creates an additional dimension with their reflective qualities mirroring surrounds.

The Tubes luminaires designed by French designer Fabrice Berrux for Dix Heures Dix are displayed in a linear series to emphasize the lines within the space.

Replicating the lines created by the Tubes, Sta Maria uses the Schmitz Stage 3 suspension lamps to illuminate the longer dining areas and emit a warm glow for ambient effects.

HALO

halolighting.com.au

The Duxton Hotel

duxtonhotels.com

Images © The Scene Team

For example, the supply, fitting and coating of European Oak across the Four Season’s function rooms and the Presidential Suite by Floormania serves to invest these spaces with a richness and warmth.

The overall impression of these spaces, from the floor up, has been elevated.  Improving the space visually it enhances the guest experience whilst ensuring a standard and quality that will serve the high traffic areas in the hotel well into the future.

Floormania

floormania.com.au