A commercial project that enhances the urban environment of Alice Springs has taken out the top prize in the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2013 Northern Territory Architecture Awards announced tonight by Former Chief Minister Clare Martin.
Green Well Building, Alice Springs by Susan Dugdale & Associates was awarded the chapter’s highest honour, the Tracy Memorial Award which acknowledges a project that expresses the ‘spirit of the Northern Territory’ along with the Peter Dermoudy Award for Commercial Architecture.
Positioned above one of the central business districts’ many car parks, the two-storey retail and office development challenges the living streetscape of the city while retaining heritage aspects of the old building by sensitively incorporating an old well next to the building entrance and lobby.
‘The building is very appropriate to its location, strongly contributing to the streetscape rather than competing with it. Overall, this building offers an alternative for diversity and much needed change in the commercially delivered environment of the Alice Springs CBD,’ the jury noted.
Sixteen projects were in the running for this year’s Awards with eleven being honoured on the night for encapsulating a strong feeling of local identity, pride and independence.
The Reverend John Flynn Award for Public Architecture was presented to Hassell for MacKillop Catholic College.
The jury was ‘impressed with the clarity of planning, the simplicity of the building materials used and the generosity of the circulation spaces and verandahs in the buildings.’
The Australian Centre of Indigenous Knowledge and Education (ACIKE) and the Katherine Regional Cultural Precinct, both by DKJ projects.architecture, received Commendations for Public Architecture.
Djakanimba Pavilions by Insideout Architects received three awards on the night, the Yali McNamara Award for Small Project Architecture, the COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture and the Indigenous Community Architecture Award.
AHL (Aboriginal Hostels Limited) Wadeye by Hodgkison received a Commendation for the COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture and a Commendation for Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing.
Ajar Architects was awarded a Commendation for Residential Architecture for Frangipani Finesse and STUDIOfive by Susan Dugdale & Associates received a Commendation for Small Project Architecture.
Two projects were awarded a Commendation for Interior Architecture, the Royal Flying Doctor Service Alice Springs Tourist Facility by Zone A Pty Ltd and the Australian Centre of Indigenous Knowledge and Education (ACIKE) by DKJ projects.architecture.
The Enduring Architecture Award was presented to Vestey’s Darwin High School Gymnasium by Woodhead Australia Architects.
Jury Chair Justin Hill of Kerry Hill Architects in Singapore along with juror Brendan Meney of Brendan J Meney Architects in Alice Springs and lay juror Diana Richards, Assistant Director of the Northern Territory Library, selected the worthy recipients.
Projects that received a Named Award or an Architecture Award now progress to the 2013 National Architecture Awards to be announced in Sydney on 7 November.
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