A joint multi-residential project by six leading Australian architects, Australia’s first Passive House-certified community building, and the southern hemisphere’s first dedicated cardiac hospital are among the many significant projects vying for top honours at the 2023 Victorian Architecture Awards.

A total of 130 projects across 15 categories are in the shortlist announced by the Australian Institute of Architects for the 2023 Victorian Architecture Awards. Run by the Victorian Chapter of the Institute, the annual Victorian Architecture Awards celebrate the best architectural projects across the state, with this year’s shortlist selected by 15 independent juries following a rigorous process.

Commenting on the high standard of this year’s entries, Victorian state president, David Wagner FRAIA observed that the submitted projects represented sophisticated responses to context, form, space, materiality, technology and sustainability.

“Shortlisting entries is an unenviable task undertaken by a select jury in response to in-person presentations and the quality of projects not shortlisted speaks volumes for those that have been. Those shortlisted are commonly amazing projects that have been thoroughly considered, designed and have come together to create a special outcome for the client,” Wagner says.

Chair of juries, Ingrid Bakker LFRAIA said there were some consistent themes among the diverse range of shortlisted projects.

“The overall quality is really high, and this is a real credit to the industry as many of the projects were both designed and realised during the pandemic. There is a focus on place – many of the buildings strongly relate to the context they are in, both through how they are sited and in the materiality. There is also an increase in First Nations engagement, which is creating a real richness to the projects.”

Sustainability Award jury chair, Jane Caught RAIA, Heliotope, says the Institute’s introduction of a mandatory sustainability checklist for all award entries to all categories encouraged a baseline level of meaningful sustainable design for all projects, while helping filter projects for consideration in the Sustainable Architecture award.

“The shortlisted projects this year exhibited both large and small initiatives, all equally valuable. We wanted to celebrate those projects where architects drove the sustainability agenda and strived for a beyond business-as-usual approach. The selected projects support the context of site, innovate the program, and look to reduce their footprint – both operational and embodied – while enhancing their social and educational impacts,” Caught says.

A total of 249 entries were accepted for consideration across 10 direct categories in the 2023 Victorian Architecture Awards, the highest number of entries in the country.

In the next stage of the awards program, juries will visit the shortlisted entries to understand how the presentations align with the physical experience of being in and around the projects, and then select the winners.

The winners will be revealed at the 2023 Victorian Architecture Awards Evening on Friday 16 June.

Winners of each category for each state and territory will then compete in the National Architecture Awards program set to be announced in November.

2023 Victorian Architecture Awards Shortlist

Branko Miletic

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