INDE.Awards Ambassadors on why regional dialogue matters. Join the conversation and enter now!

Published by
Narelle Yabuka
February 17, 2020

There’s no time to waste. Entries for the INDE.Awards 2020 close soon! But just as urgent in this time of rapid change and uncertainty is the ongoing progressiveness of our region’s architects and designers. Mark your contribution through the INDE.Awards 2020.

Progressiveness is the backbone of intelligent adaptation to change. It’s what we’ve always championed in the INDE.Awards. But this year, it feels more urgent than ever.

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The crises we’ve been facing in our region in recent months bring into focus just how crucial it is to seek designed outcomes that are relevant, fit in many ways, and sensitive to both knowns and unknowns. Resilience matters, and there are many ways it can be achieved across the diverse conditions in our part of the world.

Creating a platform to talk about the most progressive output of our region with unified voices – this is what makes the INDE.Awards unique. In the documentation and discussion of the successful projects and studios, and now through the upcoming INDE.Summit, the INDEs draw ideas together and create the opportunity to build greater strength through shared insight.

We want you to be part of the conversation. Enter now!

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INDE. Ambassador Perspectives

 

Some of our INDE.Awards 2020 Ambassadors – a cohort of leading regional designers and past INDE winners – share their thoughts about why you should enter and what they hope to see in this year’s awards program.

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“Why should people enter the INDE.Awards 2020?”

 

“From our personal experience, the INDE.Awards provide an amazing opportunity to showcase your work with some of the most innovative projects in the world. The broad exposure through print, online and events is unlike any other awards. And the focus on our region makes it particularly relevant to clients.”

David Kaunitz
Kaunitz Yeung Architecture (Australia), Winner, The Wellness Space 2019

 

Punmu & Parnngurr Aboriginal Health Clinics by Kaunitz Yeung Architecture. Winner, The Wellness Space, INDE.Awards 2019. Photo by Brett Boardman

 

“The INDE.Awards is the only pan-Indo-Pacific program. By entering this program you’re being part of one of the few events that is drawing together design and ideas from our broader region, exposing one to cross-cultural and socially significant projects.”

Ryan Russell and Byron George
Russell & George (Australia), Winner, The Work Space 2019

 

Space & Time by Russell & George, Winner, The Work Space, INDE.Awards 2019. Photo by Paul Martin

 

“Our region’s architecture is developing rapidly – more beautiful, greener, more considerate, more sustainable and more technologically advanced than ever before. This is a true paradigm shift, and INDE is the beacon of recognition of architectural excellence in this region.”

Manfred Yuen
Groundwork, Architects and Associates (Hong Kong), Winner, The Influencer 2019

 

Hawker Reload by Groundwork, Architects and Associates. Winner, The Influencer, INDE.Awards 2019. Image: Groundwork

 

“Why enter? To be evaluated on a common ground, to be part of great diversity in design expression, and to partake of a greater shared regional dialogue in design. The INDEs offer recognition for small-scale domestic architecture, which few awards find important in recognising. This is an opportunity for international recognition and to gain valuable feedback from leading designers and editors. It’s also a platform to exhibit work from the region and to converge. This year’s celebration of Best of the Decade and the INDE.Summit make it all the more special.”

Palinda Kannangara
Palinda Kannangara Architects (Sri Lanka), Honourable Mention, The Living Space 2019 & 2018

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“What are you hoping to see in this year’s shortlist and winners?”

 

“We’re hoping to see design that moves beyond global stylistic trends. Detail focussed, locally relevant and culturally sensitive work that is designed for longevity. No longer is our region about mimicking what is done in Europe and North America. Being part of international design and architecture festivals over the past few years, it’s clear that the world is now looking to our region for inspiration.”

Ryan Russell and Byron George
Russell & George (Australia), Winner, The Work Space 2019

 

PROJECT #13 by STUDIO WILLS + Architects. Winner, The Living Space, INDE.Awards 2019. Photo by Finbarr Fallon

 

“In the The Living Space category, I hope to see a variety of entries that embrace diverse living patterns and arrangements including single family, multi-generational family, home office, home business et cetera… Interior renovation forms a substantial portion of construction activities [especially in Singapore] and there is a need for it to address larger issues. The key imperatives include changing demographics, an ageing population, urbanisation and environmental sustainability.”

William Ng
STUDIO WILLS + Architects (Singapore), Winner, The Living Space 2019

 

Punmu & Parnngurr Aboriginal Health Clinics by Kaunitz Yeung Architecture. Winner, The Wellness Space, INDE.Awards 2019. Photo by Brett Boardman

 

“There can be no doubt that climate change is the key imperative that should be influencing architecture and design globally. This is particularly relevant in the Indo-Pacific where the effects are already having an impact. I would like to see solutions that are derived from community, harness the wisdom of First Nations Peoples and address the hidden environmental cost of embodied energy.”

David Kaunitz
Kaunitz Yeung Architecture (Australia), Winner, The Wellness Space 2019

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“What do you hope to see more of in the architecture and design of the Indo-Pacific region?”

 

“The Indo-Pacific region has been a crucible of rich cultural and historic influences and architecture in this region has always been an outcome of these multifarious influences. Architecture from this region is a conspicuous expression of culture, lifestyle that also reflects the richness and diversity of the region. [Ours can be] an architecture that is reflective of these diverse influences while being grounded; that provides resource-efficient and sensitive holistic solutions to climate and context, while identifying with a particular place and time.”

Palinda Kannangara
Palinda Kannangara Architects (Sri Lanka), Honourable Mention, The Living Space 2019 & 2018

 

Family Holiday Structure, Imaduwa by Palinda Kannangara Architects. Honourable Mention, The Living Space, INDE.Awards 2019. Photo by Luka Alagiyawanna

 

“We’re hope to see more of a merging of typologies and a focus on experience-based design combined with ethical design practices pushing towards the goal of normalising sustainability. Retail spaces are getting more of a hospitality edge, commercial offices are more like hotels. Being 2020, with current climatic incidences in mind, we hope to see projects that go beyond being just carbon neutral, lifting the standard for everyone through actions not words.”

Ryan Russell and Byron George
Russell & George (Australia), Winner, The Work Space 2019

 

Punmu & Parnngurr Aboriginal Health Clinics by Kaunitz Yeung Architecture. Winner, The Wellness Space, INDE.Awards 2019. Photo by Brett Boardman

 

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Now is the time to enter your most progressive work in the INDE.Awards 2020!

Enter now! You have until 21 February 2020 to join the regional conversation and make your mark.