The Design Files + Laminex Design Awards 2020 WINNERS Announced!

After ten months of planning (and plenty of postponements – thanks 2020!), the biggest night on the TDF calendar happened last night. It was strange to hold our second EVER The Design Files + Laminex Design Awards via livestream due to these ‘unprecedented times’, but nevertheless, we certainly felt the celebratory spirit in the air as so many of you joined us last night for our online awards ceremony!

The TDF team would like to say an ENORMOUS thank you to everyone involved in making this program happen. From the 500+ entries, 25 judges and 119 finalists across ten categories, we were blown away by the outrageous talent our design community holds. We always knew you were good, but seeing it all in one place really brings it home!

We couldn’t have done it without our incredible sponsors: De’Longhi, Phoenix Tapware, Brickworks, Country Road and Jardan. And, of course, our presenting partner, Laminex. Once again, the incredible Amanda Dziedzic made our one-of-a-kind glass trophies, as well as some paper weights for some of the lucky viewers who tuned in to the public broadcast!

SO. *Drumroll please!* The winners are….

Winner: Residential Architecture

Andrew Burges Architects, Bismarck House

The Bismarck House in Bondi is the younger sibling of a pair of semi-detached dwellings developed by Bill Clifton and Will Dangar, the partners of Robert Plumb Build.

Andrew Burges Architects was engaged to design the house in response to the already proposed plans for the property next door. 

The brief for Bismarck House was a flexible home that could be used as a holiday rental or future city property if the clients moved out of Sydney. The design was to be experimental and original in nature, showcasing Robert Plumb’s building capacity, and the garden by William’s landscape company Dangar Barin Smith. 

The semi-detached facade and the original front room were retained in the project, adjoined by a contemporary concrete, glass, steel and metal mesh building. Recycled materials were used wherever possible, with all bricks from the demolished portion of the home recovered and cleaned on site.

Andrew Burges’ design enlivens the public realm by orchestrating potential for social engagement between the more public areas of the house and the laneway running along the northern boundary.

Commendations
CO-AP Architects, Woollahra Courtyard House
Archier + Hip V. Hype, Davison Street
Vokes and Peters, Highgate Park House

The Residential Architecture award is presented by Brickworks.

Winner: Interior Design

YSG Studio, Budge Over Dover

Already much lauded on the awards circuit, Budge Over Dover by YSG sees a hard-edged, freestanding coastal home transformed into a gentle yet nuanced textural haven. 

Walls were demolished to realise a fresh internal choreography, meaning tactile and tonal variations were employed to demarcate zones in the new open plan layout. Coloured matte surfaces and soft textural details replace aluminium window frames and heavy veneer finishes to enhance flow between spaces without altering the original footprint. 

Curved walls, archways and rounded banquette seating soften previously harsh geometric lines, while sage polished plaster walls and blushing aubergine ceilings complement the handmade terracotta tiles lining the walls and floor. Coupled with rich, unexpected colours such as licorice, plum and eucalyptus green, these gentle edges celebrate the house’s newly realised sculptural forms.

YSG’s exemplary design exudes an artisanal energy.

Commendations
Studio Moore, The Barn
Hearth Studio, Slow Beam

The Interior Design award is presented by De’Longhi.

Winner: Furniture Design 

Adam Goodrum + Arthur Seigneur, Exquisite Corpse ‘Longbow’ Credenza

‘Longbow’ is a credenza from the three piece-collection ‘Exquisite Corpse’, by A+A – a collaboration between Adam Goodrum and Arthur Seigneur.

The initial design and patterns were conceived by industrial designer Adam, then finessed by Melbourne-based French marquetry artisan Arthur. The duo envisioned the colours and patterns together, resulting in a cascading kaleidoscopic design inspired by the concentric symmetry of a lotus blossom. 

Using just a scalpel, ruler and wood glue, Arthur painstakingly covered the credenza with 10,000+ ribbons of custom-dyed straw imported from Burgundy. Exploiting the material’s reflective properties, this straw has been laid in varying and often contrasting directions, imbuing the surface with a dynamic, textured quality.

The 17th-century craft of straw marquetry is believed to be practised by only 25 artisans around the world today.  To Arthur’s knowledge, he is the only one still practising this art in Australia.

The Exquisite Corpse collection was originally created as an exhibition for Melbourne Design Week. The collection takes its title from surrealist parlour game cadavre exquis (exquisite corpse), where a collection of words or images is collectively assembled, much like A+A’s work.

Commendations
Danielle Brustman, Chromatic Fantastic Cabinet
Manapan x Foolscap Studio, Gulnura Table

The Furniture Design award is presented by Jardan.

Winner: Lighting Design

COPPER, Flask Lighting System

Following an increased demand for variation in their existing suite of light fittings to suit commercial interiors projects and large scale commissions, Copper Design embarked on a mission to create a fully customisable lighting system. Flask is the result of this three-year period of experimentation.

The final design was the fruit of an obsession with the way light transmits through coloured glass. After months of prototyping, a slim, textured borosilicate glass tube was decided upon as the ideal vessel to illuminate.

The striking, mouth blown luminaire is created with precision glass-blowing techniques in either clear or sandblasted glass. The coloured nodes take the form of sconces, pendants and tubular mounts, offering customers endless options for colour, shape and glass thickness when designing a bespoke lighting network. A variety of metal tubes, joins and bends connects the completely customisable arrangement, which can be positioned vertically or horizontally to fit a space.

Made within a cost-effective manufacturing model, the Flask light is produced on a made-to-order basis. The modular system can be installed as a singular beam or suspended from the ceiling as a fleet.

Commendations
Ross Gardam, Ceto Collection
Dale Hardiman + Stephen Royce, Open Garden

Winner: Sustainable Design or Initiative

Good Citizens, 100% Recycled Eyewear

Good Citizens takes discarded single-use plastic bottles and transforms them into stylish sunglasses frames.

In order to eliminate any metal components from the design, the team (a father and his two sons) reimagined sunglasses from the ground up. While traditionally there could be up to 22 components in a pair of glasses, Good Citizens’ contains only seven.

Most importantly, the company has reengineered the traditional sunglasses hinge to enable an entirely recycled plastic product. This resulting plastic clip can be easily removed, making the sunglasses colour customisable. Individual parts can also be replaced and recycled if required, instead of the entire product becoming waste.

 Good Citizens sunglasses are made in Sydney and the company controls the entire manufacturing process to make sure neither its employees or the planet are exploited. The accompanying recycled PET, felt case is also made in NSW and sewn in their Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) certified factory.

 It takes one 600ml bottle to make one pair of frames, and for every pair sold, the business removes a kilo of plastic waste from the ocean through their NGO partners.

Commendations
Dowel Jones + Soft Serve Studio, New Model
Returnr, Deposit-Return System + Products

The Sustainable Design award is presented by Country Road.

Winner: Landscape Design

Kathleen Murphy Landscape Design, Native Retreat-Studio Garden

Landscape designer Kathleen Murphy’s own studio garden is an ongoing project that serves as both a hardy family garden for her three children to enjoy, as well as a place to explore ideas and demonstrate concepts in context.

The vision was to frame views of the Macedon Ranges, nestle the studio into the landscape, and respond closely to the local conditions. Kathleen mimicked the far off hills with gentle mounding, which visually connects to the landscape beyond. A key feature is the billabong, collecting stormwater from the house, studio roof and driveway. Locally sourced and salvaged materials, including soil from local housing sites, have been used at every opportunity.

This ever-evolving garden combines native and exotic plants is a true expression of self, and place for ongoing experimentation.

Commendations
Garden Life Pty Ltd, Palm Beach Garden
Kate Seddon Landscape Design, The Composed Garden

Winner: Textile Design

North Home, Tiwi Strong Women’s Collection

NORTH is a not-for-profit lifestyle brand facilitating the economic agency of remote Aboriginal artists and art centres. These artists share stories of their connection to country through jilamara (design). 

Tiwi Strong Women’s Collection is a collection of hand screen-printed wearable textiles, created by artists from Jilmara Arts and Crafts in the Tiwi Islands over 12 months. These artists are Pirlangimpi, Milikapiti and Wurrumiyanga people. 

NORTH is underpinned by slow fashion principles. Each linen piece is handsewn in Melbourne and uses only water-soluble paints for printing. Deadstock fabric is repurposed as accessories or sent to Tiwi sewers in a Darwin-based workshop.  

Textile practice signifies a new medium for Tiwi artists to tell stories, share culture and engage with the contemporary Australian design world. In addition to providing extra revenue, the Aboriginal-led workshops produced in collaboration with NORTH aim to deepen skill sharing between artists and enrich local art practices within participating communities. 

Opportunity to share the process, achievements and stories of the artists within their community is built into NORTH’s project plans and funding models. Every project is supported by community Elders.

Commendations
Kip&Co with Bábbarra Women’s Centre, Kip&Co x Bábbarra
Ellen McKenna, From Art to Fashion

Winner: Handcrafted

Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM of Tjanpi Desert Weavers, Tjanpi Teapot

Senior Pitjantjatjara leader and Tjanpi Desert Weavers artist Tjunkaya Tapaya OAM provides a playful representation of the important cultural ritual of tea-making in ‘Tjanpi Teapot’. Her unique expression, form and exquisite use of colour demonstrates her mastery of weaving with native grasses, as well as an innovative aptitude for using weaving as a vehicle for social commentary and reflection.

Tea is ever-present in the lives of Anangu (Aboriginal people) across the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) lands, spanning the central desert region of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. When making art, telling stories, facilitating a meeting, undertaking cultural ceremonies, or holding sorry camps – a fire is made, the billy is boiled, and everyone drinks tea together. The teapot is where activities begin and end, and has become an object of great importance to the social fabric of community life, and Tjanpi Teapot directly speaks to that. Tjanpi Desert Weavers is an Indigenous governed and directed social enterprise of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council (NPYWC), which represents over 400 women artists from the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) lands, spanning the central desert region of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory

Commendations
James Lemon, Pest Chairs
Szilvassy, Aether

Winner: Collaboration

Edition Office + Daniel Boyd, For Our Country
For Our Country is the inaugural National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander war memorial, commissioned by the Australian War Memorial, and located on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country.

 The memorial is designed to reflect the lived experience and memory of all Indigenous communities, including those who served in the Australian armed services, and the trauma of the frontier wars of colonisation.

Behind a ceremonial fire pit lies the sculptural pavilion made primarily of fractured basalt shards. A wall of two-way mirrored glass set with thousands of transparent lenses represents our perception, while highlighting our incomplete understanding of history.

The design is the collaborative work of Daniel Boyd, an artist and Kudjala/Gangalu/Kuku Yalanji/Waka Waka/Gubbi Gubbi/Wangerriburra/Bandjalung man, and Edition Office architects.

Commendations
Edition Office + Yhonnie Scarce, In Absence
Manapan Furniture x Foolscap Studio, Gulnura Furniture Suite

Winner: Emerging Designer

Fowler and Ward, Architects

Proud alumni of Clare Cousins Architects, Jessie Fowler and Tara Ward formed their own architecture practice, Fowler and Ward, in 2018. Besides a clear shared style, the pair’s common interest in socially-driven design outcomes drives the impressive young firm, which already has nine complete projects to its name. Particularly invested in sensitive renovations and small-space innovation, the pair strive to make a compassionate impact on the urban character surrounding them.

The studio has a passion for designing residential spaces that give back to Melbourne, the city they love, from creating homes in small spaces to multi-residential developments that increase density without overwhelming neighbourhood character.

The Emerging Designer Award is supported by Phoenix Tapware.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported the TDF + Laminex Design Awards 2020. For more info on all winners and commendations, visit the TDF Awards website!