TDF + Laminex Design Awards Newspaper 2021

AN AWARDS PROGRAM HOSTED BY THE DESIGN FILES Celebrating Australian Design & Creativity

THE DESIGN FILES + Design Awards 2021

21st October, 2021

Contents 3. Letter From The Editor 5. Design-Led Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Is Not New 7. On Creativity & Optimism 8. 2021 Judges 10. Residential Architecture 12. Interior Design 14. Landscape Design 18. Furniture Design 21. Lighting Design 22. Handcrafted 24. Sustainable Design 27. Textile Design 29. Collaboration 31. Emerging Designer

AN AWARDS PROGRAM HOSTED BY THE DESIGN FILES Celebrating Australian Design & Creativity

The Design Files + Laminex Design Awards champions design and architecture projects across Australia that demonstrate originality, excellence in craftsmanship, sustainability,and visionary thinking.

Editor Lucy Feagins Managing Editor Sally Tabart Contributing Writers Jirra Lulla Harvey Clare Bowditch Sasha Gattermayr Amelia Barnes Branding & Art Direction Annie Portelli Graphic Design Sasha Aarons Sales & Partnerships Chelsea Hall Alice Johnson Georgie Rose TDF Design Awards Photography Eve Wilson Amelia Stanwix Special thanks Jarrah Gurrie, Amanda Dziedzic Esther Navarro Orejon of The Project Agency, Matt Harding, Nikki To, Domenico Bartolo and Chris More at 21-19, Pete Brundle and James Sandri at More Studio, Line Paras and Kelly Cloake at Counting Clouds, Chrissie Feagins and Gordon Johnson.

The Design Files acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which we work, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.

We pay our respects to Elders past and present.

The Design Files is Australia’s most popular design blog, covering architecture, homes, gardens, art, craft, interior design, furniture, textiles, homewares, food & more. www.thedesignfiles.net Presenting Partner

Sponsors

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Lucy Feagins, The Design Files

Well, here we are again.

We certainly didn’t expect to be hosting our annual Design Awards ceremony online for the second year in a row. But, we’ve grown accustomed to the unexpected!

The fear and uncertainty of 2020 has given way, for many us, to a 2021 characterised by dull monotony. 18 months in to this roller coaster, we’ve realised that yes, we’re resilient, yes, we’re more flexible and adaptable than we ever knew. But we’re also utterly depleted.

What’s incredibly difficult, in times like these, is to excel. To go above and beyond. To summon the necessary passion and drive to make wondrous things happen.

But that’s exactly what The Design Files + Laminex Design Awards is all about. Excellence, ingenuity - and the sheer transformative magic of bringing creative ideas to life.

I’m pleased to report that in this awards program for 2021, we have 129 nominees who’ve done just that.

From rooftop solar energy initiatives, to cross country, cross cultural collaborations, this program celebrates Australia’s most talented creatives - those clever architects, designers, and makers whose work lends so much richness, joy and inspiration to our lives.

This year’s program is a feast of fresh, innovative and uplifting creative projects that define our time and place, bridging disciplines and cultures to build a future that is bold, visionary, and above all - optimistic.

This is the energy we need right now!

Lucy Feagins Founder & Editor The Design Files

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EDITORIAL Jirra Lulla Harvey

Design-led Aboriginal entrepreneurship is not new.

Jirra Lulla Harvey - Koorie woman, First Nations business strategist, and judge of the TDF + Laminex Design Awards Collaboration category –on the power of Aboriginal entrepreneurship.

The late Lin Onus was a hero of mine. I was 13 when Urban Dingo was published. I would take the big glossy book to school, and it became my private lesson in design, line work and expressing the layers of Country.

A life of travel and working across sectors has given me a bird’s eye view. From this angle you can see macro trends forming.

Global shifts are made of millions of moments, experienced by millions of people. These are a few of mine.

Lin Onus’s father, Uncle Bill Onus, was born in 1906 on Cummeragunja Mission. My grandmother, Lulla Morgan was born at Cummera 8 years later. Uncle Bill was a high-profile activist and successful entrepreneur. He campaigned for our citizenship rights and for parliamentary representation.

I attended my first international Indigenous exchange 20 years ago and it changed my life. A protest for Igorot rights in the Philippines, led to a Mayan boarding school in Belize, Kalinago tourism in Dominica, land rights in Vanuatu, a social enterprise hotel in Canada. The richest experiences of my life have happened on the margins. There is an ease when Indigenous people meet, because we are continuing conversations over generations.

These discussions always felt private. In the last few years, it’s like someone turned the volume up on the mic.

In 1952 Uncle Bill Onus established Aboriginal Enterprises. He carved and sold boomerangs, woomeras and greeting cards.

His shop and factory in the Dandenong Ranges became a major tourist attraction, his boomerang throwing demonstrations a drawcard in themselves. For Uncle Bill, the business was more about promoting and preserving our traditions than it was about profit. He travelled Australia to promote the venture, and opened shops in Port Augusta and Narbethong.

It was in his workshop that his son, Lin, first learnt to paint.

Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the opening of Aboriginal Enterprises.

70 years ago, Uncle Bill Onus was selling products that were beautiful, functional, and aerodynamic. Products that told a story. At his shop he mentored the next generation of trailblazers, the role models of my childhood. His business model was impact driven and regenerative. He scaled nationally, providing employment for other Aboriginal people, while still petitioning for his own rights to citizenship.

Design led and impact driven. This is the way our Elders have taught us to do business.

It was at a regenerative resort in Mexico called Playa Viva that I first noticed the ways in which industries are adapting Indigenous systems thinking. I went there for the tree house and left obsessed with regenerative design. Designing in relationship with land; nurturing local initiatives and allowing impact to grow organically; embedding story and inter-generational stewardship. Practises that feel familiar.

Right now, many Australians are learning about our culture for the first time. Eating our foods without knowing that those foods have custodians and songlines, that they are protected by lore.

Adorning themselves with our artworks, without knowing the depth of the stories they tell.

The world has awakened almost overnight to the understanding that we need to change our focus – as businesses, and as individuals – to protect and regenerate. These are the values that are intrinsic to Indigenous cultures – care for the land, water, and all living beings. It is what we’ve been doing for thousands of generations.

It is this next chapter of collaboration that keeps me hopeful.

When a cushion wrapped in the stories of our waterways is printed with dyes that won’t harm the very rivers it depicts. When the stories of the people who sew our clothes are known, because their freedom is linked intrinsically to our own. This is the future of design-led entrepreneurship, and it’s nothing new for us.

When the beauty of the final product signifies the layers of connection beneath.

A couple of years later I attended a TED conference in Palm Springs. There was a whole stream on Indigenous thinking and climate change. To my delight Kelsey Leonard spoke on Why Lakes and Rivers Should Have the Same Rights as Humans. During her talk the energy in the room shifted, there was an intense silence, a feeling came over the crowd that I can only describe as yearning.

In our twenties Kelsey and I attended international Indigenous youth leadership programs around the world. Watching her on the TED stage, it hit me - we had grown up. The cohort of kids given opportunities our Elders dreamt of and fought for were now mid-career adults. And Kelsey was on a TED stage with the crowd in raptures. I am a member of the first generation of Aboriginal people born citizens, first generation access to higher education, passports, and the rights to own assets. And now our Elders are passing the baton.

I returned to Australia to devastating bushfires, and uncharacteristic media interest in Aboriginal fire management practises. I knew then.

A change had arrived in Australia.

Cungelella Art x TWOOBS | Photo – Renee Johnstone

I work with over 100 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses around Australia, we design programs and build brands. Recently I launched the Kalinya Retreats, a place for Aboriginal entrepreneurs and friends to talk business under the stars.

The year was 2020. A slower pace descended on the world, walks in nature became a luxury, the yearning for connection to Country grew stronger. The Black Lives Matter movement changed the world. Awareness grew of racial injustice in our own backyard.

People wanted to act, and what can you do in lockdown? Online shop. #BuyBlak trended. Small business owners gained tens of thousands of followers a week. Major Australian magazines became unrecognisable, it was like we had hacked their accounts and taken over their pages with Aboriginal art, fashion, and activism. It was heady. It was overwhelming. And it was long overdue.

Jirra Lulla Harvey / Photo – Anthony Kalajzich

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Beautiful simplicity.

Tested in some of Australia’s harshest conditions, durable COLORBOND steel Matt diffuses light to create a subtle, textured and contemporary aesthetic.

COLORBOND steel in Surfmist Matt offers a stylish contrast to softer tones and complements darker hues for added design flexibility and an elegantly understated appearance.

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Lantern House, Victoria, by Timmins+Whyte Architects. Photography by Peter Bennetts. The COLORBOND steel colour swatch represents actual product colour as accurately as possible. However, we recommend checking your chosen colour against an actual sample of the product before purchasing. COLORBOND , the BlueScope brand mark and colour names are registered trade marks of BlueScope Steel Limited.

2021 BlueScope Steel Limited ABN 16 000 011 058. All rights reserved.

6.

EDITORIAL Clare Bowditch

Clare Bowditch On Creativity & Optimism You might have already heard this story – it tends to do the rounds at times like these – but I’ll tell it again, just for fun. It involves British war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and it goes… a little something like this.

At the height of the World War II, with fear-levels rocketing and resources wearing thin, Churchill’s trusted advisors made a recommendation to cut all funding to ‘The Arts’ and channel that money towards the war effort, at which point Churchill paused only briefly before replying ‘Then… what are we fighting for?’.

It’s a good story. Can’t vouch for its ‘historical accuracy’, but that’s kind of besides the point. What’s interesting here is the fact that we keep feeling the desire to share this story, again and again. Why? Because it points to something that we know, in our hearts, to be true: that in times of disruption, of challenge, of change, we need creativity more than ever.

At its essence, creativity is an act of rebellion, and act of rude hope. It provides us, even at our weakest, with a sustenance so deep, it’s barely even recognised. But there it is, all around us. It is creativity that gives us a way to look forward. It is creativity that gives us something to look forward to.

One of the big reasons I feel so honoured to co-host The Design Files & Laminex Design Awards this year, is that it gives me a chance to thank you, personally. So, to you, our ‘Makers’ and ‘Doers’ whose stories we get to celebrate through platforms like The Design Files, please know that your making and doing gives us hope in a time when we really truly appreciate it. Your creativity, gives us a sense of future, a sense of optimism, and much-needed perspective.

The truth is, we have never needed creative people like you more, than right now.

At the very least, I have never needed you more, than right now.

Here’s why.

I’m not a designer (#obvs), I’m a musician. A touring musician.

In Melbourne, Australia.

So…not touring. More just…pottering around the house in loose-fitting clothing and attempting to home-school my kids, with varying levels of success. Sometimes, in the maelstrom of

#lockdown, things get so mushed, I forget what day of week it is, except if it’s Friday. My high day! Because it’s on Fridays that The Design Files team send me my favourite email of the week, their afternoon ‘Best of The Week’ email. This is delightful for so many reasons. Firstly, it means it’s Friday afternoon, and Happy Hour is nigh. Secondly, it means that now is my time to sink into my favourite lounge and delight in stories where creativity is championed, where creative imaginings are manifested into 3-dimensional reality, where dreams of function and form come true. That’s what your work gives me: a sense of joy, power, possibility. You remind me that sometimes, behind beauty, is brilliance - the sort that elevates, and sustains us.

Sure, maybe I myself have not felt capable of any great feat of creativity but someone out there HAS, and just knowing that makes all the difference.

And so, a little message to those of you who are right now, able to ‘create stuff’ at times like these?

You - along with our front line workers - you are my heroes.

And to have this chance to join with The Design Files to celebrate creative Australians and all their achievements, makes me so very happy.

Thank you.

What you’ve achieved, especially with all the stops and starts and weirdness of the past 18 months? Well you, my creative friends, you are the living resilient embodiment of yet another of Churchill’s quote, perhaps his most popular one ever, the one that goes: ‘If you’re going through Hell, keep going’.

Photo – Sarah Collins

The truth is, your work – especially in these disrupted times –is essential. Your creativity, your ideas, your inventiveness is precisely the magic, the momentum that is needed in this moment. And more than anything, we look forward to revelling in what it is you do next.

Love, Clare Bowditch #megafan

7.

AN AWARDS PROGRAM HOSTED BY THE DESIGN FILES Celebrating Australian Design & Creativity

Meet Our 2021 Judging Panel

RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

INTERIOR DESIGN

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

LIGHTING DESIGN

COLLABORATION

TEXTILE DESIGN

Aaron Peters Vokes and Peters

Pascale Gomes-McNabb Pascale Gomes-McNabb Design

Paul Bangay Paul Bangay Garden Design

Celina Clarke ISM Objects

Amanda Henderson Gloss Creative

Luciana Wallis Warwick Fabrics

Kerstin Thompson Kerstin Thompson Architects

Sue Carr Carr

Amanda Oliver Amanda Oliver Gardens

Christopher Boots Christopher Boots

Tyrone ‘Rone’ Wright Rone

Sophie Matson Købn

Jirra Lulla Harvey Kalinya Retreats

Tristan Wong SJB Architects 8.

Mardi Doherty Doherty Design Studio

Myles Baldwin Myles Baldwin Design

JUDGES 2021

FURNITURE DESIGN

HANDCRAFTED

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

EMERGING DESIGNER

An awards program as diverse as the TDF + Laminex Design Awards requires a panel of experts that represents the vast scope of projects entered across 10 categories.

This panel represents the best in Australia within their given fields. Each of our 25 judges have individually assessed the shortlisted projects, awarding a series of scores based on the Award criteria. Together, they have selected the winning entries and commendations that demonstrate excellence and innovation.

Nick Rennie Nick Rennie Studio

Elisa Carmichael

Ross Harding Finding Infinity

Khai Liew Khai Liew Design

Danielle Brustman

Adriana Hanna Kennedy Nolan Nicolette Johnson

Nik Robinson Good Citizens

Amanda Dziedzic Amanda Dziedzic Glass

9.

Mt Coot-Tha House by Nielsen Jenkins is a gentle, brutalist masterpiece completed for a family member of one of the architects, on an empty bushland block next to their shared childhood home in Brisbane.

Designed as a wedge that has lodged itself into the mountainside, the house wraps around a luscious green central courtyard, and provides both connection to and protection from the elements.

A winding driveway snakes up to the front of the house, where the main living room is perched atop a two-car garage. The frontage of these two rooms is the only part that faces the ‘street’.

As the site inclines, the rooms unfurl themselves. Climbing up the internal staircase beside the garage visitors are deposited into the living room, which takes full advantage of views over the bushy terrain at the front of the property. This floor is where all the activity of the main house happens.

At every point, the design for the Mt Coot-Tha House takes the connection to landscape into account. The project explores ideas of connection and refuge within a site characterised by its slope and extreme bushfire exposure.

The robust exterior of this highly accomplished house belies the generosity, complexity, and comfort of the rooms within.

Mt Coot-Tha House is an intricate architectural response to a complex and challenging site.

– Aaron Peters

Photos: (This page) Tom Ross. (Opposite) Rory Gardiner / Katherine Lu / Ben Hosking / Christopher Frederick Jones / Derek Swalwell / Tom Ferguson / Derek Swalwell / Tom Ross / David Chatfield / Rory Gardiner / Anson Smart / Ben Hosking / Derek Swalwell / Chris Warnes / Dion Robeson / Dianna Snape / Martina Gemmola

RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

WINNER

THE RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE AWARD IS PRESENTED BY COLORBOND

Nielsen Jenkins Mt Coot-Tha House

Commendation

Commendation

Commendation

Archier Corner House

Curious Practice Lambton House

Edition Office Kyneton House

Presenting as a solid fibre cement-clad volume to the street, Corner House by Archier references the board and batten detail of typical fishing cottages in its Flinders, Victoria location.

The small 55 square metre footprint of this new, suburban fourbedroom home by Curious Practice maximises landscaped areas on its Newcastle, NSW site.

A refined palette of gracefully ageing, tactile materials defines this country house by Edition Office in Kyneton, Victoria.

An experimental floor plan is revealed inside, with living areas positioned in each corner of the dwelling, connected by stepped walkways acting as gallery spaces.

Carefully considering the unique five-way intersection of mixed residential and commercial buildings it addresses, the house performs simple gestures to maximise its relationship to context, both neighbouring and public.

The greatest inspiration for the project came from the client’s ambition to capture the passing of time through curated views of the garden, and white ceiling volumes that pick up the fluctuating levels of natural daylight.

“In this house, modest materials combined with inventive planning create an intriguing set of connections between dwelling, garden, street and neighbourhood.”– Kerstin Thompson

“An exceedingly elegant building executed with consummate skill. Kyneton House is a delightful example of Edition Office’s mastery of the detached house.”– Aaron Peters

“This is a home that presents a very controlled and restrained outer form, but internally creates a powerful connection to a central courtyard which becomes the focus and outlook of all parts of the house.” – Tristan Wong Finalists

ANTHROSITE Hamilton Courtyard

BLAIR SMITH ARCHITECTURE Brunswick Lean-To

AUSTIN MAYNARD ARCHITECTS Garden House

ARCHITECTS EAT Bellows House

FURMINGER River House

STUDIO PRINEAS Bona Vista

BENN & PENNA ARCHITECTURE Henley Clays

STUDIO BRIGHT 8 Yard House

NIC BRUNSDON East Fremantle House

FOX JOHNSTON SRG House

FMD ARCHITECTS Coopworth

ROB KENNON ARCHITECTS Elwood Bungalow

WIESEBROCK ARCHITECTURE Bellbrae House

WOWOWA PONY

11.

Dream Weaver by YSG Studio is a Rushcutters Bay penthouse renovation that feels revelatory and futuristic, with an upbeat dose of Pedro Almodóvar’s cinematic eccentricity.

Project inspirations range from contemporary Spanish tapas bars and their liberal use of tiling; surrealism; and rich colour gradations evoking a material take on the northern lights.

To counterbalance the sobriety of its enveloping box-like frame shrouded in glass, a Pantone party of inviting soft landings and evocative stone surfaces represent a galactic material palette, with bold and oversized seating plus deep piled custom rugs strategically demarcating zones in the open living area.

Paramount to the outcome was a sense of emotional release. Colour, touch are the triggers, with tactile hard and soft surfaces at every turn, from a woven Missoni sphere light to the defined edges of undulating wall tiles.

The combination of historical references, collaborations with designers and makers are celebrated. This home is a joyous kaleidoscope of considered interior design. – Sue Carr

Photos: (This page) Prue Ruscoe. (Opposite). Prue Ruscoe / Dave Kulesza / Sean Fennessy / Timothy Kaye / Derek Swalwell / Dave Wheeler / Anson Smart / Amelia Stanwix / Prue Ruscoe / Sharyn Cairns / Derek Swalwel

INTERIOR DESIGN

WINNER

THE INTERIOR DESIGN AWARD IS PRESENTED

BY MIELE

YSG Studio Dream Weaver

Commendation

Commendation

Commendation

YSG Studio Soft Serve

Edition Office Melburnian Apartment

Rosanna Ceravolo Design South Yarra Apartment

YSG Studio describe this Rozelle home as an ‘adroit telescoping of eras and artistic influences.’

Edition Office‘s design response to this Melbourne apartment renovation is inherently simple, refined, and calming to restore and create freedom. A sanctuary for rest and recharging, but also a space which challenges the mind to perform.

A longing for ceremony underpins the design approach to this 1920s South Yarra art deco apartment renovation by Rosanna Ceravolo. The project maximises amenity through the implementation of robust and enduring materials, with a view to maintaining the place as a rental property going forward.

Preserving its historical essence as a purpose built late 19thcentury Victorian Georgian corner shop, the three-storey sandstone structure has transitioned into a pragmatic and spacious home for a family of four.

Furnishings and fixtures subtly reference Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s delicate Art Nouveau flourishes and the quiet restraint of timber framing devices prevalent in traditional Japanese interiors. Bold hues and textures harmoniously mingle with whispers of soft sensuality.

“Soft Serve bursts with personality and integrity, a true celebration of the home’s architectural past. Intriguing spaces, executed in a mature manner.” – Mardi Doherty

‘Continuous function’ curves have been employed throughout to elevate the quality of light and shadow to move effortlessly around the rounded forms of the home without any abrupt changes in the quality of light or shadow. The clients now move through the space in a continuous evolving and smooth loop.

“An elegant and balanced response, a stylishly resolved interpretation of a cookie-cutter space to realise a streamlined, calm & sophisticated sanctuary in the city.”

– Pascale Gomes-McNabb

Though used sparingly, soft colours and light textural details such as speckled flooring have an important connective effect. The same terrazzo-like surface appears in different rooms throughout the house – the fireplace, bathroom cabinetry, kitchen splashback and entryway – to create flow throughout the otherwise simple spaces.

“This 2 bedroom art deco apartment in South Yarra is minimal but effective, the space feels well considered and finely detailed. Soft, cream natural tones & a hint of sage create an inviting atmosphere.” - Sue Carr

Finalists

ADAM KANE ARCHITECTS Barwon Heads House

LAUREN EGAN DESIGN Victoria Street

ARCHITECTS EAT Carpenter’s Square House

HUGH-JONES MACKINTOSH The Weave House

ESOTERIKO Bunker In The Treetops

STUDIO ESTETA Mornington Peninsula House

FOX JOHNSTON SRG House

MARIA DANOS ARCHITECTURE Henry Street Townhouses

Photos: John Gollings / Martina Gemmola / Sharyn Cairns / Natalie Hunfalvay / Jessie Ann / Jessie Ann / Andy Macpherson / Amelia Stanwix / Amelia Stanwix / Tom Blachford / Sarah Pannell / Rory Gardiner

LANDSCAPE DESIGN

WINNER Rush Wright Associates Victorian Emergency Services Memorial

THE LANDSCAPE DESIGN AWARD IS PRESENTED BY ECO OUTDOOR

The Victoria Emergency Services Memorial designed by Rush Wright Associates in Treasury Gardens is a place of sanctuary and reflection to reflect on the service and sacrifice of loved ones.

For this reason, the design has evolved to become a ‘garden memorial’. This strategy differs from other memorials in Melbourne’s parklands, which are largely sculptures and objects placed into the larger parkland scene.

The design integrates the six emergency service organisations into one landscape setting and draws on historical references to transform the experience of a meandering walk at the edge of the lake into an evocative memorial response.

A beautiful memorial which focuses on the interactive rather than a solitary monument. It’s a reflective, emotive environment that is respectful and enjoyable – Myles Baldwin Commendations

Bethany Williamson Landscape Architecture Prospect Hill A juxtaposition of old and new, this front garden in Camberwell, Victoria by Bethany Williamson Landscape Architecture takes its cues from the bungalow facade and contemporary interior of the house itself. The project combines elements usually found in traditional front gardens, giving them a contemporary twist to make the space feel both current and timeless at once.

Ian Barker Gardens Blairgowrie In response to the sprawling site, Ian Barker Gardens designed a varied, six-part layout encompassing outdoor entertaining, a sunset terrace, a pool, fire-pit and luscious floral plantings. This ‘secret garden’ is shielded from street and beach view, making it an unexpected delight reserved for private residents.

“A well thought out design utilising a sloped site to create a private oasis.”

– Amanda Oliver

“I loved this garden for its originality & highly organic, innovative use of hedging” – Paul Bangay Finalists

OUTDOOR ESTABLISHMENTS Kenthurst Gardens

PHILLIP WITHERS The Toorak Garden

FIG LANDSCAPES The Plot

MUD OFFICE Essendon

FIG LANDSCAPES Coolamon House

PEACHY GREEN Sharp Street

DAN YOUNG LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Y3 Garden

PHILLIP WITHERS Lara

STUDIO BRIGHT + PEACHY GREEN 8 Yard House

THE DESIGN FILES + LAMINEX DESIGN AWARDS 2021

The Walmajarri phrase ‘Ngumu Jangka Warnti’ meaning ‘whole lot from rubbish’, is the title of this furniture collaboration between Nyikina man and saddler, Johnny Nargoodah, and furniture/object designer, Trent Jansen.

Johnny and Trent salvaged a selection of discarded aluminium mesh and used this found metal as the starting point for experimentation. The duo designed these pieces as they made them, starting with a mesh substrate cut vaguely in the shape of a chair, and together beat the material with hammers, concrete blocks and tree stumps until it took on a form that they both liked. This beaten geometry was then softened by laminating New Zealand saddle leather to skin the mesh, masking its geometry and softening its idiosyncratic undulations.

This project was designed to be an experiment in the generation of hybrid material culture and the outcomes were developed using methods that facilitate the most symmetrical collaboration possible. Johnny and Trent created their designs remotely, developing a collaborative ‘sketch exchange’ system to ferry prototype designs between Johnny’s home in Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia, and Trent’s on the south-east coast of NSW.

A truly exciting and important vernacular body of work that is simultaneously innovative and steeped in historical tradition.

Visually sophisticated works that define our time and place, embodying bridged cultural values so optimistic and necessary. – Khai Liew

Photos: (This page) Romello Pereira. (Opposite) / Mattia Balsamini / Jem Selig Freeman / Tom Ross / Timothy Kaye / Haydn Cattach / Dean Toepfer / Eve Wilson / Peter Ryle / Penny Katopodis / Brenton Colley / Haydn Cattach / Amanda Santamaria / Brook James

FURNITURE DESIGN

WINNER

THE FURNITURE DESIGN AWARD IS PRESENTED

BY JARDAN

Johnny Nargoodah and Trent Jansen Ngumu Janka Warnti Collection

Commendation

The MAKI Chair by Adam Cornish Design is a vertical stacking chair suited for both commercial and residential applications.

Commendation

Adam Cornish Design, MAKI Chair

The design is a simple exercise in reduction, featuring efficient, elegant components that work harmoniously to create a unique chair. The chair’s laminated plywood backrest is a thin ribbon-like structure that loops laterally through the chair, forming a distinct silhouette, and enabling efficient vertical stacking.

Like Butter, KittaParts

KittaParts by the Castlemaine based design and fabrication business is a truly modular shelving system. The threaded timber shelving system is completely modular, adaptable and reconfigurable. Each KittaParts set comprises three sizes of threaded timber dowels and two shelf sizes, allowing numerous configurations to suit all manner of spaces and purposes.

“A really wonderful solution that shows great skill in every aspect of the product, including both design and manufacture, but most importantly the thinking of how this idea can add to the lives of those who use it, and not just become a gimmick though its use of technology and construction”. – Nick Rennie

“Delightful aesthetic, well resolved design.

Answered brief perfectly.”– Khai Liew Finalists

REAL NON-REAL Formosa Coat Stand

BIASOL STUDIO Strato Collezione Marmi

JAMES HOWE J5 Credenza

MARINO MADE Round Desk

BOARDGROVE ARCHITECTS Stool Dolly

RENÉ LINSSEN Union

JORDAN LEEFLANG Kilter

ROSS GARDAM Breeze Collection

ROSANNA CERAVOLO

By Product

KOALA Cork Sofa

EVA Hideaway Table Collection

LIGHTING

HOMEWARES

Photos:: Alex Earl / Sharyn Cairns / Jonathon Griggs / Carli Wilson / Dean Toepfer / Dean Norton / Francesco Vicenzi / Timothy Kaye / Jason Paparoulas / Haydn Cattach / Dean Toepfer

2.

CARBON NEUTRAL SINCE 2014

MADE IN MELBOURNE

FURNITURE

LIGHTING DESIGN

WINNER Alex Earl Solt Collection

Alex Earl’s collection of sculptural lighting pieces encompasses both wall sconce and pendant features. Each rough and textured shade creates soft ambient lighting, and is unique due to the unpredictability of the glass moulding process.

Pieces in this collection are the result of months spent experimenting the possibilities of casting glass, combined with precision machined brass. The design uses cast glass in an unusual way not often seen in lighting, in that, rather than attempt to control all aspects of the material, the glass has been allowed to respond naturally to the process.

Among key works is the Solt Pendant, which utilises recycled glass from glass blowing workshops. This glass would normally be considered a waste product, as it is no longer ‘pure.’

Alex Earl devised repeatable moulds to ensure minimal waste in the process of creating this collection, and all electricity used is derived from renewable energy providers. Pieces are entirely designed and produced in the studio’s Melbourne workshop.

Alex Earl’s “Solt” collection offers a simple, strong visual appeal, paired with on-trend materiality.

– Christopher Boots Commendations

Articolo Lighting Loopi Wall Sconce

Marta Figueiredo Stardust

The Loopi Wall Sconce is a romantic interpretation of linking fingers and the youthful sincerity of a ‘pinky promise’.

Conceived as a ‘braided’ design of interlocking loops, the light is reminiscent of sculptural wall jewellery – confident in shape and form, yet quietly sophisticated.

Intrigued by the effect of light travelling through the mixture of new translucent coloured resin and the glittering waste of the perspex particles, Marta Figueiredo of Figgoscope produced the Stardust Lamp at home during lockdown using liquid resin and silicone.

The lamp’s shape is a simple interplay of geometrical forms: a constellation of interstellar particles atop a glowing coral gem, elevated above a burgundy pillar, uniquely connected by an aluminium tube.

A delicate and celestial brightness is diffused through thin particles of resin debris, adding life and depth to the new resin that encapsulates it.

Developed over 18 months at Articolo Lighting’s Melbourne studio and workshop using hand drawn sketch, computer generated visualisation, and rapid prototyping methods, the final design reveals itself as entirely unique within an increasingly crowded market.

“Stardust is a perfect table lamp, offering an attractive, lovely texture, providing evidence of the making process.” – Christopher Boots

“An imaginative and playful concept realised with skillful technical proficiency to create a distinctive design of the highest quality.” – Celina Clarke Finalists

TAKEAWEI Stack Lamp

DEAN TOEPFER & LIAM FLEMING Solute Chandelier

DEAN NORTON Daylight

EDWARD LINACRE Sun

SOUTH DRAWN Globosus Pendant

SVIKIS. Layers

ROSS GARDAM Arbour Linear Pendant

IVANA TAYLOR DESIGN Wrapped Gestures Light

Artist Alicia Marrday independently created this woven Baladjdji (backpack bag) with the support of Marrawuddi Arts & Culture, a community Arts Centre in the heart of Kakadu National Park.

Alicia’s craft first began under the guidance of her aunty, who taught her how to weave. Over the last year her unique and innovative skills have transformed and Alicia created her first Baladjdji, which came to fruition as three smaller pieces that saw her accepted into the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards.

Alicia has now expanded her idea to create this larger, brighter piece.

Combining both ancient and traditional methods, it demonstrates phenomenal weaving mastery. Using the pockets and shape of her kids backpacks as a reference, Alicia weaves the design of her Baladjdji ‘from [her] own mind’.

All materials used to create the Baladjdji are natural and collected on country. Alicia describes going fishing with her kids and collecting Kunngobarn (pandanus) to weave, and the Kala (natural dye colour) is found in her partner’s homeland.

Alicia’s Baladjdji is a wonderful example of ancient skills and materials used by First Nations people for many thousands of years applied to contemporary outcomes.

I have never seen a backpack so beautiful!

Amazing naturally dyed colour pallete, woven with pandanus intricately creating a unique form.

– Elisa Carmichael

Photography: (This page) Marrawuddi Arts & Culture. (Opposite) Isabella King / Shelley Horan / Henry Trumble / Josephine Briginshaw / Kyoko Hashimoto / Tania Bahr-Vollrath / Ferro Forma Studio / Polly Wright / Jan Vogelpoel / Peter Ryle / Jess Brohier / Georgina Proud / Greg Piper / Pier Carthew / Hermannsburg Potters

HANDCRAFTED

WINNER Alicia Marrday of Marrawuddi Arts & Culture Baladjdji (Backpack)

Finalists

EUN CERAMICS Curved.

LUCY TOLAN Seams

Commendation

JENNA M LEE Body Language

LIAM FLEMING Post-Production

KYOKO HASHIMOTO Bioregional Rings

Other Matter Algae Bioplastic Vessels

Tempering aesthetic beauty with future thinking, Other Matter have generated a collection of bioplastic tableware made using algae polymers and pigments.

These aesthetically striking pieces reminiscent of glass are recyclable, biodegradable, and can be composted in a home system.

“I think any artist who is actively working towards a more sustainable future is to be highly commended.

These works of Jessie’s are really quite delicate in their finish and I think possess massive potential. I applaud her vision and her tenacity to explore this way of working”. – Amanda Dziedzic

ALISON FRITH Ceramic Plinth

ALISON JACKSON & DAN LORRIMER Flow Form Vases

ERIN.K JEWELLERY + KOORIE TALES, Source of Life + Essence at Dusk

JAN VOGELPOEL CERAMICS, Future Curve, Space Cadet and Curve

HAMISH MUNRO The Joan Series

OH HEY GRACE A Place To Call Home

Commendation

Rona Rubuntja of Hermannsburg Potters Selected Works

GEORGINA PROUD Flotsam//Jetsam

SARAH RAYNER & SOPHIE CARNELL Florilegium

Rona Rubuntja of the Hermannsburg Potters’ joyous style is distinctive, humorous and imaginative. Rona is a deaf and non-verbal person, and uses the medium of pottery to tell stories of her life. Each of these works emanate joy whiledepicting contemporary life in Ntaria (Hermannsburg community) and speaking to Western Aranda values.

“These bright, joyous objects are an important reflection of the artist’s appreciation and connection to family, country, and community.”

– Nicolette Johnson

Photos: (This page) Cubed Studios. (Opposite) The Life Style Edit / Sarah Ceravolo / Jessie O’Brien / 3d2d / Josh Howard / Pier Carthew / Fiona Susanton / 3d2d / Jess Brohier / Christopher Tovo / Annette O’Brien

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OR INITIATIVE

WINNER

THE SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OR INITIATIVE AWARD IS PRESENTED

BY COUNTRY ROAD

Great Wrap The Only Australian-Made Compostable Cling Wrap

Recognising the waste created by conventional cling wrap, an architect and a natural winemaker teamed up to create Great Wrap. This certified home-compostable cling wrap performs exactly like conventional cling wrap, except it breaks down into carbon and water in less than 180 days when composted.

Great Wrap is made from potato waste and a mix of other compostable biopolymers, and manufactured for home and industrial use at a solar powered factory on the Mornington Peninsula. It is currently the only Australian-made compostable cling wrap. All packaging is made from recycled paper, and is also recyclable.

The company has commercialised a price competitive solution to the plastic problem that allows homes and businesses to continue functioning as they do currently.

A scalable solution that lets everyday people make everyday change. Innovative thinking that’s thoughtfully made in Australia.

– Nik Robinson of Good Citizens Finalists Commendation

Revival Projects Zero Footprint Repurposing Initiative At Ferrars Street

On half a South Melbourne block demolished to make way for new development, Revival Projects have salvaged over 2000 lineal metres of timber beams, and are using them to manufacture furniture and joinery. This manufacturing is being completed entirely in a workshop on site, and items will feature in the eventual development.

“A beautiful story of community engagement, teaching new skills and preserving the past. Every developer should use this sustainable model.” – Nik Robinson

THE BETTER UNIFORMS CO., Sustainable Better Uniforms

ROCC NATURALS Sustainable Oral Care

CONVOLO DESIGN H_Station

SINGLE USE AIN’T SEXY Dissolvable Hand Soap Tablet

NOBODY DENIM AND GEORGE, Woven Bag

OTHER MATTER Algae Bioplastic Vessels

Commendation

Ettitude CleanBamboo CULTIVATED (BY CULT DESIGN) Cultivated

PLEASANT STATE + POP & PAC, Pleasant State Drop Into The Revolution.

USE DAILY Various Origins

Ettitude spent years refining and testing its signature CleanBamboo textile to create a bamboo fabric that is 100% biodegradable and produced in a closed-loop system.

“Excellent to see how Ettitude are significantly reducing their impact and looking forward to seeing how you can scale up and keep reducing further. “ – Ross Harding

Follow the journey of our Australian Made T-Shirt—from the local farms where cotton is grown, to the Melbourne factories where it’s brought to life.

Watch the film at: countryroad.com.au/editorials-the-australian-made-t-shirt

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Photos: Jesse O’Brien / Molly Heath / Zoe Helene Spaleta / Caro Pattle / Christian Koch / Mike Baker / Stephanie Cammarano / Still Smiths / Victoria Aguirre / Jenny Wu / Annika Kafcaloudis / Getty Images / Timothy Robertson / Sam Wong

Country Road is proud to support Australian Made.

TEXTILE DESIGN

WINNER Nobody Denim and GEORGE Woven Bag

The objective of this textile project was to reduce Nobody Denim’s footprint and reimagine commercial textile waste.

Cut offs otherwise destined for landfill were gathered from the denim label’s cutting room floor, and rerouted into the hands of weaver and designer, Georgina Whigham for her label, GEORGE. Prioritising a slow approach to manufacture and design, each bag is meticulously handmade by Georgina using her traditional four shaft floor loom. Completely left to chance, the colour palette of each piece is determined by whatever denim fabrication has recently been cut at the Thornbury based factory. From scraps to luxury artisanal bag, the process takes Georgina Whigham several hours to complete via the laborious process of cutting, layering, weaving, sewing and screen printing.

The final result is one of textual, Wabi-sabi brilliance, intended to be used for years to come.

Traditional rag weaving techniques being used for everyday products gives these items a modern edge while the individuality in colour and shape of each piece make enhance the experience of buying hand made. – Sophie Matson Commendations

Amber Days Wanala Collection

Badaam The Meeting Place

Founded by Yorta Yorta and Boonwurrung woman Corina Muir, Amber Days is an apparel label inspired by the Australia bush, desert and sea.

The Meeting Place collection by Badaam encourages cultural exchanges by experimenting with drape, silhouette and patterns found in the Asia-Pacific region.

“Beautiful and emotive. The idea of bringing cultures together to celebrate all Australians through a fashion piece that can be worn in different ways is very appealing.”

–Luciana Wallis

“I love the use of story telling through these playful and relevant pieces. I can see the range extending to bedlinen, printed artwork and stationary, with the same appeal of Ken Done in the 80s.”

– Sophie Matson

Finalists

CARO PATTLE Woven Vase & Cup

OAT STUDIO Capital Collection

IKUNTJI ARTISTS + PUBLISHER TEXTILES, Clothing Collection

CURIO PRACTICE Australian Woollen

GH COMMERCIAL Oceanic Commercial Carpet

KUWAII, ‘Chronicle’ For Spring Summer’20

TARA WHALLEY New York Fashion Week Collection

TAKEAWEI, Glaze Test Woollen Blanket

INSTYLE INTERIOR FINISHES Native

PAMPA Eclipse

PAIRE The World’s Comfiest Socks

PRE-ORDER NOW AT

IN STORE FROM

SPIROSTORE.COM.AU

26TH OCTOBER

Photos: Romello Pereira / Kristoffer Paulsen / Christian Koch / PEW PEW Studio / Gorman / Amelia Stanwix / Molly Heath / Holly Gibson / Derek Swalwell / Renee Johnstone

AN N A SP I RO

DISCOVER THE COLOURFUL WOR OF INTERIOR DESIGNER D L

COLLABORATION

WINNER

THE COLLABORATION AWARD IS PRESENTED

BY THAMES & HUDSON

Trent Jansen Studio + Johnny Nargoodah, Ngumu Janka Warnti Collection

The Walmajarri phrase ‘Ngumu Jangka Warnti’ meaning ‘whole lot from rubbish’, is the title of this furniture collaboration between Nyikina man and saddler, Johnny Nargoodah, and furniture/object designer, Trent Jansen.

Johnny and Trent salvaged a selection of discarded aluminium mesh and used this found metal as the starting point for experimentation. The duo designed these pieces as they made them, starting with a mesh substrate cut vaguely in the shape of a chair, and together beat the material with hammers, concrete blocks and tree stumps until it took on a form that they both liked. This beaten geometry was then softened by laminating New Zealand saddle leather to skin the mesh, masking its geometry and softening its idiosyncratic undulations.

This collection embodies collaborative design.

The coming together of two distinct world views to create something entirely new, evoking memories and stories through highly skilled craftsmanship.

– Jirra Lulla Harvey

Commendations

John Wardle Architects + Ash Keating Studio, Solar Pavilion

Ikuntji Artists + Publisher Textiles, Clothing Collection

Solar Pavilion is one of 15 pilot projects by leading Australian architects commissioned by Finding Infinity for ‘A New Normal’: a comprehensive plan for Melbourne to become a fully self-sufficient city by 2030.

Aboriginal art centre Ikuntji Artists partnered with Publisher Textiles to release a collaborative collection of 100% Australian designed and made clothing.

Prints were created by both established and emerging artists in order to show the breadth of Ikuntji designs; provide a diversity of prints for different markets, and supply income to artists. Each piece was crafted by Publisher Textiles, and the fabric screen printed by hand.

“Extraordinary execution to the concept for a zero budget project.

A true sign of a ‘love job’ and a need for collaboration when you are asking for everyone involved to simply believe in the project because it is a great thing to show the world.” – Tyrone ‘Rone’ Wright

“This collaboration is a labour of love. Indigeonus artists, silk screeners and makers come together to create a bold and inspired collection.”

– Amanda Henderson

Finalists

SKEEHAN STUDIO + ROU HOUSE ROU House

CASTLE + GORMAN PLAYGROUND Rachel Castle For Gorman Playground

FLOWERS VASETTE Urban Blooms

AMBER DAYS + ARKIE BARTON Wanala Collection

MUD AUSTRALIA + APY ART CENTRE COLLECTIVE Mud x APY

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE + BERGMAN & CO Poodle

TWOOBS + CUNGELELLA ART Cungelella Art x TWOOBS

Winner of the 2021 Emerging Designer Award

At Phoenix Tapware, we are driven by creativity and excellence, which is why we were thrilled to reprise our relationship with The Design Files Awards in 2021.

We once again chose to sponsor the Emerging Designer category due to a shared passion for recognising outstanding talent in the design space, and a desire to help uncover the next generation of Australian designers and creatives.

Above: Lexi MKII Vessel Mixer and Robe Hook in Matte Black Right: Lexi MKII Vessel Mixer and Basin Mixer in Brushed Nickel To view our entire collection, visit phoenixtapware.com.au

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Photos: Nicholas Wilkins / Jess Brohier / Rory Gardiner / Charlie White / Ulo Australia / Pier Carthew / Ben Hosking / Sarah Darling / Katherine Lu / Tess Kelly

Congratulations Nicole Lawrence Studio

EMERGING DESIGNER

Working with a manufacturing-led design approach, Nicole Lawrence is a furniture, metal fabrication and lighting studio based in Melbourne.

Nicole manufactures her own in-house collections of furniture and lighting, as well as providing design and production services to other local brands and studios.

Her approach to design is technique-driven, with curiosity and learning driving her motivation to design.

Functionality before form is a key principle in all works delivered.

WINNER Nicole Lawrence Studio

THE EMERGING DESIGNER AWARD IS PRESENTED

BY PHOENIX TAPWARE

Finalists

LAUREN HAYNES

DREAMER

WIESEBROCK ARCHITECTURE

BROTHERS FEARON FABRICATION

CHARLIE WHITE

ULO AUSTRALIA

Carefully considered, sculptural and durable pieces. Unconstrained by typical design precepts.

Nicole’s body of work is diverse and bold.

– Adriana Hanna

CURIOUS PRACTICE

TSAI DESIGN

JESSIE FRENCH