Intergrain - Awards

Intergrain Timber Vision Award Winners 2012

This year, the Intergrain Timber Vision Awards were judged by a panel of highly qualified design professionals, including John Wardle, founder of John Wardle Architects; Rowena Marsh, Principal of MCK Architects; Cameron Bruhn, Editorial Director at Architecture Media; and Sarah Nadenbousch of DuluxGroup. The outcomes of the third annual Intergrain Timber Vision Awards builds on the results of previous years, with high-calibre entries received from emerging and established practitioners from across Australia. In 2012, up-and-coming practitioners are particularly represented. The jury were impressed with the use of timber in public domain projects and excited to see designers challenging preconceptions about timbers application and properties.

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Winners

Commercial Exterior

Winner: Saltwater Coast Lifestyle Centre

NH Architecture

Located in Point Cook, VIC

Jury's Comment: Situated near Point Cook, twenty kilometres west of Melbourne, Saltwater Coast is a new housing subdivision that will contain more than 2,500 homes when completed. The Lifestyle Centre is a focus for the emerging community and acts as both a community centre and a private recreation club. It contains sporting facilities, a cafe and multi-purpose function space. The bold, singular form of the pavilion is clad in spotted gum and it’s this striking use of timber that communicates the building’s civic aspirations within the suburban setting. The Saltwater Coast Lifestyle Centre is an exemplar for the formal and material possibilities of timber.

Commercial Interior

Winner: Annexe – Art Gallery of Ballarat

Searle x Waldron Architecture

Located in Ballarat, VIC

Jury's Comment: The Art Gallery of Ballarat is one of Australia’s oldest and finest regional art galleries. The annexe expands the gallery’s function spaces and creates new urban connections for the heritage-listed building. The annexe is used for talks, workshops, installations and functions, and can be opened up to become a bandstand for public performances. The program, form and material expressions of the annexe are an inventive interpretation of local building types. The ceiling, soffit and feature wall of the new space are clad with slender, white-painted timber battens of varying intensity. This singular, timber surface defines the enclosure of the space, enables flexible use and visually connects the inside and outside.

Residential Exterior

Winner: HANS-house

M.O.D.O

Located in Kensington, VIC

Residential Interior

Winner: Jarrah Blockhouse

Silvester Fuller

Located in Randwick, NSW

Jury's Comment: The Jarrah Block House updates an existing dwelling to suit the lifestyle of the inhabitants. It responds to this familiar brief with one built element that unites the form and function of the space. Many of the activities are brought together in one room. This multi-functional outcome is achieved by inserting one large piece of timber furniture into the space, unifying activities and connecting it to the upper level via a stair. This is a stage for eating, cooking, studying and playing. This hard-working object is made from Jarrah – chosen to match the client’s timber dining table and its ability to age naturally and authentically. The design approach is a singular and highly disciplined celebration of daily life.

Landscape

Winner: Barwon Heads Bridge & William Buckley Bridge

Peter Elliott Architecture + Urban Design

Located in Barwon Heads, VIC

Jury's Comment: First settled as a fishing village in the 1870s, Barwon Heads is a picturesque seaside community located on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria. Built in 1927, the original 300-metre-long Barwon Heads Bridge was a local landmark and an important road link. A reconstructed timber road bridge has been constructed alongside a new pedestrian and cycling bridge. Both employ innovative timber construction techniques that respond to function and context. The replacement road bridge is a hybrid timber and steel structure and the concrete structure of the William Buckley Bridge is neatly wrapped in a casing of timber. Timber is also used for the bridge’s landing decks and this integrates them with the sensitive coastal setting.