A former warehouse turned loft apartment in Melbourne’s west has won the 2014 Australian Interior Design Award.

‘Loft apartment’, a former butter manufacturing warehouse redeveloped by Adrian Amore Architects, impressed the judging panel with its clever spatial planning and simplistic design; a principle also seen in other winning projects across the award’s twelve categories.

The Adrian Amore project received the Premier Award for interior design excellence and innovation, as well as the Residential Design award and Best in State (VIC).

“The spatial planning within the apartment reveals the hand of the designer; a skilful hand that expertly creates and explores volume, plasticity and light, culminating in an interior that is invigorating, sumptuous and liveable,” commented the jury about the Loft apartment.

In its eleventh year, more than 400 projects were entered in 2014 event—an 11 per cent increase from last year. The jury’s short-list of 148 interior designers was then invited to the Sydney Hilton Hotel for the awards ceremony on 17 May where the prizes were announced.

Event manager, Jacinta Reedy was impressed with this year’s entrants and highlighted a new direction for interior design in Australia.

“The jury recognised in these projects new directions in interior design, including clever use of raw materials, a love of simplicity and restrained approach to design,” she said.

“The pool of winners at this year’s awards represents some of the brightest talents in Australia’s design industry.”

The awards are co-presented by the Design Institute of Australia, designEX and Artichoke magazine.

The winners by category:

Premier Award, Interior Design Excellence and Innovation

Loft Apartment, West Melbourne, by Adrian Amore Architects (Pictured Below)

Sustainability Advancement Award

Urban Coffee Farm & Brew Bar by Hassell (Pictured Below)

Emerging Interior Design Practice Award

Acme & Co (Pictured Below)
—Commendation
Assemble Studio

Residential Design Award

Loft Apartment, West Melbourne, by Adrian Amore Architects
—Commendations
Black House by Andrew Maynard Architects
Dollshouse by Edwards Moore
Flinders Lane Apartment by Clare Cousins Architects
House Maher by Tribe Studio Architects

Hospitality Design Award

Industry Beans by Figureground Architecture (Pictured Below)
Penfolds Magill Estate Restaurant by Pascale Gomes-McNabb
—Commendations
Ruyi by Hecker Guthrie
A.Baker by DesignOffice Australia

Australia Residential Decoration Award

The Avenue by Arent & Pyke (Pictured Below)
—Commendation
Marine Parade Apartment by James Dawson Interiors

Retail Design Award

Toni & Guy salon, Port Melbourne, by Travis Walton Architecture
Zumbo Melbourne by Elenberg Fraser (Pictured Below)
—Commendation
The Windsor Annex by Hecker Guthrie
Gallery Funaki by Karen Abernethy Architects
Qi Master Reflexology by Pinto Tuncer

Workplace Design Award

Ansarada office by Those Architects and End of Work (Pictured Below)
—Commendation
Sustainable Headquarters for Birkenstock Australia by Melbourne Design Studios (MDS)

Public Design Award

Garangula Gallery by Fender Katsalidis Mirams Architects (Pictured Below)
—Commendations
MacKillop Chapel for Australian Catholic University by Woods Bagot
The University of Queensland Advanced Engineering Building by Richard Kirk Architect + HASSELL Architects in Association
Walkerville Civic and Community Centre by JPE Design Studio

Installation Design Award

Urban Coffee Farm & Brew Bar by Hassell
—Commendations
NGV Community Hall by McBride Charles Ryan
Planet Under Construction (PUC) by Woods Bagot

Best of State Awards for Residential Design

New South Wales – House Maher by Tribe Studio Architects (Pictured Below)

Queensland – Marine Parade Apartment by James Dawson Interiors

Victoria – Loft Apartment, West Melbourne, by Adrian Amore Architects

Western Australia – CASA31_4 Room House by Caroline Di Costa Architect and Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects

Best of State Awards for Commercial Design

Australian Capital Territor — A. Baker by DesignOffice Australia
New South Wales – Garangula Gallery by Fender Katsalidis Mirams Architects

Queensland – The University of Queensland Advanced Engineering Building by Richard Kirk Architect + HASSELL, Architects in Association (Pictured Below)

South Australia – Walkerville Civic and Community Centre by JPE Design Studio

Tasmania – Geeveston Child and Family Centre, Wayraparattee by Liminal Architecture and Liminal Spaces

Victoria – Industry Beans by Figureground Architecture

Western Australia – Perth Arena by ARM Architecture & Cameron Chisholm Nicol (Joint Venture Partners)

All images courtesy of Australian Interior Design Awards.

Nathan Johnson

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