Winners Announced – 2023 Dulux Colour Awards

The winners of the 2023 Dulux Colour Awards have been announced in Melbourne. Chosen from 47 finalists across Australia and New Zealand, the various winners showcase the most masterful and innovative use of colour in the built environment, with recognition for ambitious scope and refined execution.

This year’s awards were a celebration of all things colour. Colour & Communications Manager at DuluxGroup Andrea Lucena-Orr said, “it is our great pleasure at Dulux to collaborate with such courageous, creative minds and to award their extraordinary work.” Judging this year’s entries were a respected panel of design-industry experts including Andrew Piva, Director of B.E Architecture, Brahman Perera, inter-disciplinary Designer and Director of his eponymous studio, Lisa Lee, Senior Interior Designer of Snøhetta, Sarah Carney, Project Director of CTRL Space, and Byron George, Director of Russell & George.

The Grand Prix Australia Winner as well as the winner of the commercial interior – public and hospitality category is the Darebin Intercultural Centre Architecture by Sibling Architecture. The project pushes boundaries in its colour usage and its typology, utilising colour that is highly emotive and encourages interaction and inclusion. The New Zealand winner is St James Theatre by Shand Shelton. The architects rejuvenate a 100-year-old theatre with a complex palette inspired by early drawings of the heritage-listed building. Blushes of rich colours and metallics accentuate the proscenium arch and stage. By contrast, the foyer spaces adopt a neutral colour scheme to emphasise the building’s materiality.

The winner of the Single Residential Exterior category is Nightlight (NZ) by Fabric. Commending its subtle incorporation of colour, Sarah Carney said, “undoubtedly, it asks a lot from one colour, which gives us more reason to commend the choice of Mist Green, as it sits so comfortably with the structural timbers and myriad greens of the surrounding bush. The result is calm and sincere, striking an organic balance between form and function.” Alma Road Residence by studiofour took out the Residential Interior category. A simple palette reinstates the ornate detailing of the original building – plays on grey, white, matte and gloss. Lisa Lee commented, “as theatrical yet calm, moody interior exuding timeless old-world sophistication typifies this period restoration.”

“It is our great pleasure at Dulux to collaborate with such courageous, creative minds and to award their extraordinary work.”

For the Commercial Interior – Workplace And Retail category, Postal Hall by Trower Falvo Architects with Alessio Fini impressed the judges the most. The bookshop draws on the singular use of colour to create an impact. Byron George comments on the joy and beauty of “the sage green of the shelving modules against the white canvas tones is refined and striking… [which] combines with the pops of blue furniture around the bookstore’s perimeter.”

The Darebin Intercultural Centre by Sibling Architecture won the Commercial Interior – Public And Hospitality and was also a Grand Prix Australia Winner. The community centre aspires to eliminate racism and discrimination by providing a safe place, which also informs the fiercely collaborative design approach. The end result features a diverse range of forms and materials and a commanding palette. Andrew Piva says, “we admire the brave choice of cool and warm yellows for eschewing trends.”

The end result features a diverse range of forms and materials and a commanding palette.

DesignInc Sydney’s PHIVE Community, Cultural and Civic Hub won the Commercial and Multi-Residential Exterior category. Offering a striking architectural addition to the built landscape, Sarah Carney comments “the pattern of solid and open elements is eye-catching for the spectrum of red and tangerine hues that colour its geometric filigree. Inspired by local flora – waratahs, banksias and grevilleas – this vivid exoskeleton creates a dazzling play across the vast, curved sweep of the roof.”

Design students also had a chance to showcase their skillset. The student winner for Australia is Ruby Shields from RMIT with Hues of Mount Kunanyi, which offers an imaginative and playful approach to colour in its highly sophisticated design concept inspired by the mountain that looms over Hobart and the eucalypts that populate the area. The student winner for New Zealand is Augustina Binyamin from Victoria University with The Canopy Bench. Its literal colour allows the purity of the bench’s form to speak for itself and its singularity is highly effective,proving that colours do not have to be bright to make an impact.

“The pattern of solid and open elements is eye-catching for the spectrum of red and tangerine hues that colour its geometric filigree. Inspired by local flora – waratahs, banksias and grevilleas – this vivid exoskeleton creates a dazzling play across the vast, curved sweep of the roof.”