Five exciting local projects have been honoured at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2014 North Queensland Regional Architecture Awards, held tonight at Crown on Palmer in Townsville.
Seven projects including a hospital, cruise terminal, education facilities, commercial premises and a house were entered in the Awards with four projects (see list below) being awarded Regional Commendations by the jury and progressing to the Queensland Architecture Awards to be announced in Brisbane on 20 June.
In addition to a Regional Commendation, JCU Education Central by Wilson Architects with Architects North was presented with the Walter & Oliver Tunbridge Award for Building of the Year.
‘James Cook University’s Education Central is the result of an intense reassessment by the architect and the University as to how contemporary students can learn. The resulting building and spaces are extraordinarily diverse and effective providing an enormously successful learning environment and a major contribution to the university’s urban landscape,’ the jury said.
A special Enduring Architecture Prize was awarded to Lund Hutton Newell and Paulsen for the Townsville City Council Administrative Building.
‘This building is a remarkable arrangement of a series of required administration spaces around a central covered court that provides the people of Townsville with one of its most important civic spaces. The development in its overall scheme through to innovative detailed elements is entirely appropriate to the climate and context,’ the jury commented.
Regional Commendations:
| Architectural Project | Architectural Practice | Location |
| Redevelopment of Mt Isa Hospital | Conrad Gargett Riddel Ancher Mortlock Woolley | Mt Isa |
| 420 Flinders Street | Arkhefield | Townsville |
| Townsville Cruise Terminal | Arkhefield | South Townsville |
| JCU Education Central | Wilson Architects with Architects North | Townsville |
North Queensland Regional Jury Coordinator and Juror Stephen De Jersey (Stephen de Jersey Architect P/L) and Jurors Bruce Barrett (retired architect) and Jane Foster (Foster Designs Pty Ltd Architects) assisted the 2014 Awards Jury Director, Liam Proberts, (bureau^proberts), Deputy Director Paul Uhlmann (Paul Uhlmann Architects), and State Jurors Catherine Baudet (Ferrier Baudet Architects), Mark Jones (Architectus Brisbane) and Paul Curran (PUSH) with selecting the worthy recipients of Regional Commendations, the Walter & Oliver Tunbridge Award for Building of the Year and the Enduring Architecture Prize.