A Melbourne design team have been awarded the 2024 Holdmark Innovation Award, receiving a cash prize of $10,000 for a retrofit project that epitomises “innovative excellence.”
Architecture firm Kennedy Nolan and environmental consultancy Finding Infinity have received the award for their Wilam Ngarrang Retrofit, a project that involved the retrofit of a 1970s apartment block in Melbourne’s Fitzroy.
The award is presented by Powerhouse with the support of Holdmark Property Group. A panel of judges evaluated the entries, which included Gerard Reinmuth, who serves as a professor of practice in the School of Architecture at the University of Technology Sydney and is the director of Terroir; Keinton Butler, the senior curator of design and architecture at Powerhouse; and Kevin Nassif, the chief operating officer at Holdmark Property Group.
The winners and commendations were announced during the Sydney Design Week 2024 opening event on 13 September.
According to a statement from Powerhouse, the Wilam Ngarrang
Retrofit was selected as the winner for “its delivery of an energy-efficient space with both social and sustainability agendas at its core.”
“The retrofit addresses the challenges of waste in the construction industry through innovative ways of reusing or recycling materials, and provides efficiency initiatives like rooftop rainwater collection and solar panel installation that reduce the building’s energy use by 70 percent.”
Panel member Kevin Nassif echoed those sentiments, stating that the project offers a “solution to the aging red brick apartment buildings from the 60s and 70s” found across Australia’s urban landscape.
“It is a very clever, energy-efficient space with both social and sustainability solutions for giving these buildings a new life and providing critical and effective solutions given the current housing and affordability crisis facing the nation.”
Commendations were presented to ARM Architecture with Architectus for Blacktown Exercise Sports and Technology Hub (BEST) and Grimshaw with A
ndrew Burges Architects and McGregor Coxall, and the City of Parramatta Council for the Parramatta Aquatic Centre.
In addition to the Holdmark Innovation Award, designer Caity Duffus was named the recipient of the Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator program for her design of Mycelia House, which, according to the statement, is a functional container that captures the beauty of mushrooms and supports their growth within the home.
The Carl Nielsen Design Accelerator – supported by a bequest from Australian industrial designer Carl Nielsen and his wife Judy Nielsen – recognises “outstanding industrial design for sustainability.”
As the winner, Duffus will receive nine months of mentorship from industrial designer Ed Ko. In addition, she will receive financial support for the production and distribution of her project.
Source: Tourism Africa
