Building on the edge
ARUN SINGH MANN day and crowned Cairns designer balay Vandyke winner of the sustainable building design and new residential house $500,001 – $1 million categories for its work on Panoramic Place.
The house which helped highlight balay Vandyke’s creative work was a project perched up in the hills behind Cairns City.
The owners of the challenging site wanted to capture the city views and ocean breezes to create a cool and comfortable home to live in.
“The sheer fact that we were able to design a residence on this cliff edge proved to create the most outstanding feature of this home — its floating appearance”, balay Vandyke’s Matt Piromalli said.
Cairns building designer JB Design was recognised in the public building category for its handy work on the Kowanyama Airport in the Cape York Peninsula town.
A new airport terminal was required to replace the existing shed on the site. The terminal needed to be grounded by the local area while presenting an iconic and recognisable facade.
“The unique building and angles were designed around an existing large mango tree,” a JB Design spokesman said.
“This tree is a place of local significance and we wanted to make it a focal point of the entry and exist of the building.”
A BDAQ spokeswoman said the awards were an incredible achievement for Cairns. “Our awards program showcases the incredible work of Queensland’s best building designers — a profession that often goes unnoticed in the public eye but whose achievements are something we feel should be publicly celebrated.”