Design Institute of Australia launches inaugural awards
Bates Smart scoops Best Place at inaugural Design Institute of Australia Awards with an acute medical services building, the Gandel Wing at Cabrini Malvern
The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) – Australia’s national design body, has recently announced the winners for its inaugural Designers Australia 2021 Awards. The three categories ‘Place,’ ‘Use’ and ‘Interact’ boast a wealth of forward-thinking projects across the country. ‘Place’ recognises the spaces we inhabit, live, and operate in; ‘Use’ celebrates the things we use; while ‘Interact’ showcases who and what we engage with.
The ‘Place’ category was won by multidisciplinary design practice Bates Smart for its acute medical services building, the Gandel Wing, at the Cabrini hospital in Malvern, Australia. The jury was unanimous in selecting the new seven-storey wing for its exemplary approach to design, wellness, and healthcare architecture. Stretching 16,350 sq m, the scheme delivers state-of-the-art cancer, cardiac, and geriatric care facilities alongside a radiotherapy bunker. Gandel Wing was praised by the judges for its high levels of comfort, safety, and dignity.
Bates Smart approached every aspect of the project through the lens of the patient to ensure that each space functions from both a medical and aesthetic perspective. To do this, the award-winning practice worked closely with medical teams to create mock-ups of clinical medical work areas. Centring on wellness, healthcare, and technology, the building focuses on healing and creating a welcoming environment. ‘The Gandel Wing’s natural finishes, rounded edges and neutral palette illustrate the power of buildings that can heal,’ stated jurors and design educators Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano.
Other Design Institute of Australia Award winners
Sydney-based design studio DesignByThem won the ‘Use’ category for its seating series, DL Range by GibsonKarlo and Dion Lee. A collaboration between industrial designers and DesignByThem founders Nicholas Karlovasitis and Sarah Gibson, and Australian fashion designer Dion Lee, the project combines impressive Italian saddle leather with slick organic materials and sleek angular silhouettes.
The ‘Interact’ category went to Monash University XYX Lab for HyperSext City – an online repository that collates data by crowdsourcing from communities, researchers, and individuals across the globe. While the President’s Prize was won by multidisciplinary designer Ed Linacre for his contribution to the design lexicon and commitment to diversity and equality.
DIA president Gavin Campbell stated that ‘since 1948, the Design Institute of Australia has been committed to nurturing and empowering designers. It is pleasing to see the culmination of these awards, responses to design shifts while also being a part of our collective future.’
INFORMATION
batessmart.com
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Shawn Adams is an architect, writer, and lecturer who currently teaches at Central St Martins, UAL and the Architectural Association. Shawn trained as an architect at The Royal College of Art, Architectural Association and University of Portsmouth. He is also the co-founder of the socially-minded design practice Power Out of Restriction. In 2023, POoR won the London Design Festival’s Emerging Design Medal. Shawn writes for numerous international magazines about global architecture and design and aims to platform the voices of those living across the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa.
-
‘London has a punk attitude – it has enabled somebody like me to emerge in this extremely niche field’: designer Natsai Audrey Chieza
As we interview key figures around London Design Festival 2024, Natsai Audrey Chieza discusses biodesign, previews her ‘Gathering’ lamp, and ponders the role of the festival
By Ali Morris Published
-
Larry Booth's 'House of Light' showcases an impeccable slice of postmodernist heritage
A 1980s Larry Booth-designed Chicago townhouse on a narrow plot is a striking example of his author's work, set alongside the city’s postmodernist archive
By Edwin Heathcote Published
-
SolidNature and Sabine Marcelis make a splash with ‘The Vondel Fountain, Stacked’ in Amsterdam
We see stone company SolidNature’s fountain unveiled during Amsterdam Fashion Week, and speak to its CEO learn about the brand’s past and future
By Ali Morris Published
-
Shigeru Ban wins 2024 Praemium Imperiale Architecture Award
The 2024 Praemium Imperiale Architecture Award goes to Japanese architect Shigeru Ban
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This Sydney house is a family's stylish seaside sanctuary
This Sydney house is a young family's suburban dream come true thanks to Alexandra Kidd Interior Design and Rich Carr Architects
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
SANAA scoops 2025 Charlotte Perriand Award
The 2025 Charlotte Perriand Award has been awarded to Japanese architecture studio SANAA
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practices
In the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Peek inside this secluded rural Australian retreat by Alexander Symes, in sync with nature
Based in Sydney, Alexander Symes Architect joins the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
By Tianna Williams Published
-
At the heart of Sydney Metro’s expanded Central Station lies a spectacular new public space
The new extension to the Sydney Metro, designed by Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners, can now be accessed beneath its monumental roof structure above the city’s historic Central Station
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
2024 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist: the six projects that made it in
The 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist has been revealed – who made it into the running for the UK's most coveted architecture award?
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
2024 RIBA National Awards: browse the list of worthy winners
The 2024 RIBA National Awards have been announced, comprising 26 projects across the UK
By Ellie Stathaki Published