Alba Thermal Springs and Spa
Four Pillars Gin Distillery 2.0
Now celebrating its 20th year, the annual Australian Interior Design Awards recognises the best in class of interior excellence across hospitality venues, retailers, art exhibitions, private homes, creative studios and other buildings. On March 22, a record-breaking 215 projects across the country have been named in its 2023 shortlist, including leading restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and homes.
Hospitality design
Plenty of Sydney venues make the shortlist, including the soaring heritage ceilings and art deco details of CBD brasserie The Charles and the iconic beachfront design of Glory Days (part of Bondi Pavilion’s $48 million restoration), both designed by Cox Architecture.
Also on the grander side of things is North Sydney 300-seater Rafi by Luchetti Krelle – boasting a banquette-lined glasshouse hung with greenery – and Kiln, Mitch Orr’s woodfire restaurant on the 18th floor of Surry Hills’ Ace Hotel, courtesy of Fiona Lynch Office.
Lennox Hastie’s moodily lit Surry Hills venue Gildas, fitted out by Atoma Design, also makes the cut.
In Victoria, Dion Lee dominates with three projects from HQ Group’s Pacific House multi-storey venue: Her Bar, BKK and Music Room, a soundproof bar and listening room modelled after vinyl-spinning boltholes found throughout Japan and Europe.
Mornington Peninsula’s much-anticipated Alba Thermal Springs and Spa gets a nod for Hayball’s dramatic minimalistic fit-out. Striking concrete pillars and flooring, touches of timber panelling and ceramic tiles feature throughout the rambling property, alongside 22 elegant spa suites and 31 bathing pools.
And in Healesville, the huge new $7 million gin hub at Four Pillars Gin Distillery 2.0 is recognised for Breathe’s stunning carbon-neutral design, including a very green gin garden, a dramatic copper bar and a glowing gin shop.
Less enormous – but still plenty stylish – is Convoy in Moonee Ponds, the 140-seat neighbourhood cafe from the team behind Terror Twilight and Hi Fi in Collingwood, and Tinker in Northcote, which is designed by Studio Esteta with warm timber, chunky marble benchtops and stone tiling throughout. Former pop-up takeaway joint Rocco’s Bologna Discoteca, which garnered a cult-like following during lockdown for its saucy Italian sangas, also gets a nod for its permanent home in Fitzroy. The two-storey space designed by Studio Co & Co pays homage to old-world Italian trattorias and visits to Nonna’s house.
The design team at Ewert Leaf gets two hospo shout-outs – for the industrial vibes at gun pizzeria Figlia and for moody Chinese-inspired bistro Moonhouse, replete with elegant burgundy booths, art deco chandeliers and curves all over.
Plus there’s Adelaide’s Dolly wine and cocktail bar – the latest from the Bar Lune team – designed by Genesin Studio. And the just-opened Pilloni in Brisbane, via Alkot Studio.
Retail design
Projects big and small are shortlisted for the awards’ retail design category.
The Gallery Shop at Art Gallery of NSW’s new Sydney Modern Building garners recognition for Akin Atelier, which designed the retail component for the $344 million building hailed as the most significant new cultural project in Sydney since the Opera House.
Akin Atelier also proves its chops at the more petite end of the spectrum, with a second nod for jewellery label Sarah & Sebastian’s iridescent Chadstone kiosk-slash-soldering-bar.
Meanwhile, Melanie Katsalidis’s “human-sized jewellery box” of a shop in Melbourne’s Royal Arcade is recognised for a Foolscap Studio design featuring a vivid blue velvet bench mimicking traditional ring trays. Hawthorn’s Kōri Ice Cream, with its dramatic two-tone paint job, gets the nod for Architects Eat. Ewert Leaf enjoys another shout-out for Lune Croissanterie’s third Melbourne outpost in Armadale – all polished concrete, aged brass and stainless steel. And much-loved Melbourne scent and skincare brand Aesop is shortlisted for Clare Cousins Architects’ work on its Collins Street shop – host to the company’s free Queer Library initiative during this year’s Midsumma Festival.
In Adelaide, Korean street toast fave Super Egg, with an industrial-style fit-out in chrome and concrete from Genesin Studio, also makes the list.
Residential design and decoration
Designers and decorators working on homier spaces also win acclaim on the shortlist.
Wowowa Architecture’s Hermon, in one of Hawthorn’s red-brick Federation homes, is all glorious curves and colours, terrazzo and tile. Arent & Pyke took on a former worker’s cottage for Salsa Verde, utilising marble and burl wood throughout, with groovy curves and exacting lines. And there is more multi-layered materiality in the luxe Melbourne Penthouse designed by Fiona Lynch Office.
Wellard gets a nod for coastal weekender Somers Beach House, a mix of expansive, glassed-in living spaces overlooking big views, and intimate spaces with timber walls. Mossy Point House on the New South Wales south coast, designed by Edition Office, also makes the most of timber interiors, mixing plywood and spotted gum.
Brunswick’s Nightingale Skye House development, fitted out by Breathe, features timeless and beautifully utilitarian materials in concrete and wood, with exposed ducting. At the other end of the spectrum, Perth’s 123 House from Neil Cownie Architect makes the most of oddball angles and artisan stained-glass niches.
Moody organic finishes get the nod with Tom Mark Henry’s Bronte Beach House, while colour pops on concretes and plush greys is the go for Esoteriko at Take Two in Sydney’s Double Bay. And Simone Haag’s scheme for Fenwick House in Kew riffs on a black and neutral palette for a vibe that’s collected and considered.
The awards are delivered by the Design Institute of Australia and Architecture Media’s Artichoke magazine. This year’s jury panel includes Melissa Bright (Studio Bright), Jeremy Bull (Alexander & Co), Maria Danos (Maria Danos Architecture), Brian Donovan (BVN), Stuart Krelle (Luchetti Krelle), Rosie Morley (Fender Katsalidis), Georgie Shepherd (Georgie Shepherd Interior Design) and Aaron Wooster (Smart Design Studio).
Winning projects will be announced on Friday June 2. See the full shortlist via the link below.
australianinteriordesignawards.com
18 Jul 2023
18 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023
17 Jul 2023