BELLE COCO REPUBLIC INTERIOR DESIGN AWARDS
The winners revealed.
This year’s Belle Coco Republic Interior Design Awards attracted the largest pool of entries to date with projects running the gamut from refined residential abodes to sophisticated shared work hubs. And the winners? Australian interior design lovers of course...
THE UNIQUE BACKGROUNDS of the team behind Whiting Architects have given their practice a distinctive style and approach. Creative director Carole Whiting spent 20 years in the advertising industry producing high-end television campaigns while Steven Whiting has degrees in both interior design and architecture and 35 years’ experience gained locally and internationally.
The O’Grady kitchen project, this year’s winner of the Belle Coco Republic Best Kitchen Design award, deals with volumes and forms with the subtext ‘hiding in plain sight’. “The kitchen is quite deceptive – what appears to be a small working area at the end of a large volume of white space is only the beginning. The fridge is recessed into the rear wall hiding behind oak handles. The long joinery bench runs the full length of the living room from the kitchen to the laundry area, which doubles as a butler’s pantry. The overall style is monochromatic but in keeping with the subtext of ‘hiding in plain sight’ there are numerous tones and colours accentuating and giving weight to the architectural elements. Leather handles help disguise the function of the cupboards holding appliances and add an organic overtone,” says Carole.
LOCATED WITHIN the iconic Paramount Pictures building in Sydney’s Surry Hills, Paramount by The Office Space provides 22 handcrafted timber office suites. The philosophy was to create a sophisticated concept for the shared workspace, embracing traditional joinery and artisan skills while honouring the building’s heritage. The outcome was a truly innovative adaptive reuse design with the 1940s heritage architecture setting the geometry for the interiors. The building’s signature form is echoed in the softly curved handmade timber office suites, built by Boris Tosic and the team from Elan Construct, that wrap around the contour of the floor plate. An intricate three-dimensional feature ceiling of timber and brass links the individual elements within the office, creating a compelling aspect both within and from the street. Classic design pieces, including iconic chairs such as the Eames ‘TimeLife’, Walter Knoll ‘Leadchair’ and Molteni&C ‘GiO Ponti’, augment the interior design with a hand-built walnut table and whisky repository. A carefully curated art collection with original pieces by Stephen Ormandy, Del Kathryn Barton and Ben Quilty deliver each suite with a sense of individuality and expression of personality perfect for the discerning end user. For more go to woodsbagot.com.
JULIETTE ARENT AND SARAH JANE PYKE, the team behind Arent&Pyke share a passion for residential spaces, beautiful, practical design and believe that thoughtful interiors nurture the human condition. So it’s no suprise that their winning project in the Hospitality Interior category, Alex Hotel, is imbued with a strong residential feel. The primary concept for the project was ‘Hotel as Home’, thus the public spaces in the hotel are sophisticated and elegant yet cosy and welcoming with a careful selection of furnishings, lighting and rugs that invite guests to pour a glass of wine and linger, reading, chatting or even playing a round of Scrabble. And there are dramatic moments courtesy of unique sculptural arrangements of pendant lighting that include the Ladies & Gentleman Studio ‘Shape Up’ and Noguchi ‘Akari Light Sculptures’. The hotel rooms are elegant and pared back and richly painted from floor to ceiling in dusty colours such as rose and eau de Nil that provide respite and reinvigoration. And the verdict? The relaxed, contemporary and inclusive feel of the Alex reflects its location in Perth’s newly reborn Northbridge area. For more go to arentpyke.com.
THIS YEAR’S BELLE COCO REPUBLIC INTERIOR DESIGN AWARDS were dominated by the outstanding projects of triple-threat designer Fiona Lynch of Fiona Lynch. Fiona took out the top award in three categories: Best Residential Interior for the Balwyn residence, Best Bathroom Design for the Hargreaves residence and Belle Coco Republic Designer of the Year 2016. The Balwyn residence is a home constructed by a builder for his young family. Concrete, timber and stone dominate the palette and are complemented by aged brass and grey-stained oak cabinetry. “Our approach was to keep the materials tonal,” says Fiona. “All joinery is made from grey-stained solid oak with grey stone. Brass was added to the palette to give light and a metal finish. The palette was refined over the course of the building process.” The winning bathroom design in the Hargreaves residence is in a building in Melbourne’s Fitzroy that was originally the Lara boot factory. “The client brief was to create a private sanctuary with materials dark in tone,” says Fiona. The designer had a shortlisted project in every category across the awards, demonstrating the breadth and versatility of her design practice. “Last year was an amazing year for us with wonderful clients and builders,” she says.