The recent work on the Australian War Memorial by architecture practice Johnson Pilton Walker took out 5 awards at the ACT leg of the Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards.

Image by John Gollings

Johnson Pilton Walker won the Romaldo Giurgola Award for Public Architecture, the John Overall Award for Urban Design, the W Hayward Morris Award for Interior Architecture, an Inlite Light in Architecture Prize and the Canberra Medallion – the most prestigious architecture prize in the ACT.

ACT Jury Chair Shelley Penn commended the Australian War Memorial Eastern Precinct for its “architectural mastery and excellence at every level.”

Image by John Gollings

“It is important as an historic and symbolic place in the development of our nation and its culture,” said Penn, describing the café, forecourt and National Service Memorial Courtyard as “sensitive in architectural conception, powerful in composition, delicate and precise in construction, refined and exquisite in their simplicity, and delightfully integrated into the immediate and greater landscape.”

Image by John Gollings

Other key major award winners included the Slater White House by Philip Leeson Architects, which took out the Named Award for Residential Architecture and the Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture.

Image by Photo Hub

The jury described the house as “audacious” with an outcome that “manages to be functional, economical and seamless, while being provocative, surprising and thoroughly delightful.”

Image by Photo Hub

The Art in Architecture Award was presented to NewActon South Tower Art Program by Fender Katsalidis Architects in association with Pamille Berg Consulting, Oculus and PBS Building, and artists Heather B Swann, Ochre Lawson, Dan Maginnity, Al Stark, Michael Porter and Gregos Psychoyos.

Image by John Gollings

“An exemplary procurement and management process by Pamille Berg and painstaking integration with the work of architects Fender Katsalidis has resulted in a collection of excellent works by highly credible established, emerging and street artists,” said the jury.

Image by John Gollings

“This Program shows how a genuine, intelligent and rigorous approach can add enormous value to the public realms, to a thriving and dynamic art culture and to the private benefits of those who enjoy them on a daily basis.”

The 2011 Architecture Awards will continue around the country, with Northern Territory and South Australia Awards announced this Friday 10 June.

Australian Institute of Architects
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