The Good Design Awards have once again come and gone, showcasing the best of design, innovation and creativity along the way.
The 2017 winners were announced at a ceremony held on 8 June. Prizes were awarded across a number of categories, including architectural design, product design, digital design, communication design, and social innovation.
Among the winners was Tonsley Innovation District Urban Design & Public Spaces by Woods Bagot, Tridente Architects and Oxigen, which received the award for sustainability and was named overall winner of the architectural design category. The South Australian project represents Australia’s first ‘innovation district’. The space brings together leading-edge institutions and companies to connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators, with a focus on innovation, sustainability and job creation.
Tonsley Innovation District Urban Design & Public Spaces by Woods Bagot, Tridente Architects and Oxigen received the Award for Sustainability and was named overall winner of the architectural design category
So far, projects within the district include the Main Assembly Building (MAB) forests, MAB lighting, MAB floor and foyer carpets, the Tonsley streets, external plazas and spaces, retaining walls, MAB town square, wayfinding, public art and bespoke furniture.
Another architectural winner was WMK Architecture’s Sargood on Collaroy project in New South Wales. The resort-style accommodation for people with spinal cord injury took home the award for commercial and residential architecture. The project aims to transcend the design of more typical healthcare facilities by incorporating sophisticated interiors, advanced technology and external spaces.
Sargood on Collaroy by WMK Architecture took home the award for commercial and residential architecture
“The built environment has a profound psychological impact on quality of life,” says Greg Barnett, WMK’s managing director. “If it looked, felt, or smelt like a hospital we would have failed in our job.”
Residential pavilions are defined by a series of folded linear roofs that capture the sun and mimic the waves of the nearby beach. Addressing sustainability, the project incorporates features including passive solar design, performance glass, extensive insulation, operable windows for cross-ventilation, and large overhangs to protect from the summer sun.
Other architectural winners included TVNZ Television Network Centre Refurbishment by Warren and Mahoney Architects, and Hassett Park by Jane Irwin Landscape Architecture and Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Design.
Beyond the architectural categories were a number of innovative products, such as Brisbane’s flood-resilient and accessible ferry terminals by COX Architecture and Aurecon. The project was named the overall winner of the product design category. It was also the recipient of the Good Design Award of the Year (which tied in with Game of Awesome).
Brisbane's flood-resilient and accessible ferry terminals by COX Architecture and Aurecon was named the overall winner of the product design category, and was given the award for commercial and industrial product design. It was also the recipient of the Good Design Award of the Year
The resilient design allows public access to the river, reduces post-flood downtime and increases the network capacity of Brisbane’s ferries by virtue of its configuration for dual berthing. An upstream fender absorbs impact and deflects heavy objects to prevent damage.
A boat hull-inspired pontoon reduces negative lift on leading edge and drag force during floods. The gangway is buoyed to automatically detach from the shore, swinging behind the pontoon and out of the way of debris, while the mooring point changes function to provide lateral restraint to the pontoon.
Sustainability features consist of low power LED lighting, the recycling of elements from previous terminal design, and the use of durable materials and features.
2016 Sustainability Awards winner, Junglefy Breathing Wall by Junglefy, was also recognised at the 2017 Good Design Awards, receiving the commercial and industrial award for product design. Junglefy’s ‘breathing wall’ is an active, modular green-wall system that is scientifically proven to accelerate the removal of air pollutants, particulate matter and volatile organic compounds.
Junglefy Breathing Wall by Junglefy was also recognised with a commercial and industrial award for product design
Junglefy created the wall using modules composed of linear, low-density polyethylene with infinite recyclability. These are supplied with a growing medium high in coconut fibre. The wall is ventilated via a fan, which provided a uniform airflow across plants and other growing elements. This unique, active ventilation system increases the rate of carbon dioxide draw-down, and the volume of air that can be filtered and cooled by each module.
In 2015, Junglefy installed a six-metre high Breathing Wall into the new Lendlease headquarters in Barangaroo.
The other award for commercial and industrial product design went to the previously-mentioned ferry terminals by COX Architecture and Aurecon.
Images: Good Design Australia
