Celebrating their 74th year in 2005, the WA Chapter Architecture Awards provide an annual showcase for the skills of Western Australian members of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA).
Entries cover categories from single and multiple dwellings to civic and commercial projects, in addition to several special categories. The awards this year attracted a record 95 nominations (up from 77 last year) covering more than 80 individual projects (some projects were nominated in more than one category).
The entry list included a total of 31 residential projects, ranging from luxury Perth riverside homes to beach houses embracing the best in environmental design, to housing for an Aboriginal community in the Great Victorian Desert.
The awards address key social issues in cases where good design has the potential to make a lifestyle contribution. In selecting the winners the judges address key issues such as sustainability and the ability of a project to complement its surrounding built environment, as well the normal measures of architectural excellence.
All projects that win an award at state level, except those in the special Archicentre category for renovations and additions, will automatically be nominated for the RAIA National Awards to be judged in Canberra later in the year.
This year, architects could nominate projects in 10 categories: single residential; multiple residential; alterations and additions; public/ institutional; civic design; Heritage Council conservation award; commercial; interior; ecologically sustainable; and the Archicentre award (state only) for renovations under $250,000.
There are two additional awards in addition to the 10 categories.
The first is the George Temple Poole Award, which is a measure of pure architectural excellence, while the second is the Colorbond Award (Colorbond is the main sponsor) for innovative use of steel and steel products in architecture.
To see the list of winners click here.
