Celebrating interior design excellence

The awards were presented as a virtual livestream on Friday 3 September, with the industry’s most esteemed interior and architecture practitioners tuning in across the country to acknowledge and celebrate the ingenuity of Australian design.

Delivered through a partnership between the Design Institute of Australia and Architecture Media’s Artichoke Magazine, the Australian Interior Design Awards is the nation’s foremost interior awards program.

The jury applauded Liminal Spaces’ The Bleeding Tree for its apt use of pared back design tools, leaning on light, shade, and scale to produce an evocative, experiential project that takes its audience on a breathtaking journey. Of note was its modest foundation, with the jury observing the design’s “meaningful articulation of a simple concept.”

This year’s award for Hospitality Design was presented to BAR Studio for its work on Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono. This project, also recognised as Best International Design, rejects the traditional notions of its typology, bringing a freshness and sense of domestic comfort to the hotel genre. The jury specifically commended the space’s connection to landscape, noting that “spatial planning visually spans through to the outdoors and the interiors are wondrous, feeling residential in nature.” Also celebrated was the timeless aesthetic, sophistication and detailing that ensures warmth amidst the project’s expansive footprint.

ZWEI Interiors Architecture’s Citizen MDW was recognised for its sustainability agenda, receiving the Sustainability Advancement Award. Of this project, the jury remarked that Citizen MDW serves as a benchmark for all hospitality projects, stating that it is “a call to action for designers to proactively and comprehensively adopt sustainability initiatives and philosophies into their own designs from the outset.”

Flack Studio’s Potts Point was dually awarded, also named Best of State Residential Design (NSW). A home in which each juror felt they could live; it was praised for faultlessly meeting the brief. Of the project the jury commented “the interiors are carefully curated and offer the quintessential answer to what the Residential Design category is all about – to deliver livable domestic bliss.”

Eastop Architects portfolio of highly sophisticated works was recognised, with the Victorian-based practice taking out the 2021 Award for Emerging Interior Design Practice. Established in 2017 by Liam Eastop, the studio was commended for the strength of its design direction and meticulous design approach. The jury unanimously agreed that this exciting practice has a bright and bold future ahead of it.

To see the full list of awards, click here.

Photography:
Romello Pereira
Rosie Hastie
Derek Swalwell
Jack Lovel