Fitzroy Crossing Renal Hostel wins top prize at Dulux Colour Awards 2018
A hostel for Aboriginal people with kidney disease in Western Australia’s Kimberley region has collected two prizes at the Dulux Colour Awards 2018.
The Fitzroy Crossing Renal Hostel, designed by Iredale Penderson Hook Architects, took the top gong – as the Grand Prix winner – as well as the Commercial Exterior award.
The hostel has five small cottages with 20 beds, which provide a home for Aboriginal people receiving treatment at the local dialysis centre. This allows them to stay close to their family and community.
The colours used are meaningful to the local community. Photo: Peter Bennetts
The facility uses colour to reflect the surrounding landscape and the transition from wet to dry season.
“Colour plays an important role in the lives of the people of the valley – they express their connection to country and traditional lore and culture with paintings,” according to the project notes.
Paintings created by local artists were also incorporated into the cottages, giving each home a local identity.
“Every colour in this project has meaning and, in its remote environmental context as well as its functional context,” one of the judges Murali Bhaskar said.
It’s not the first time the WA project has been recognised. In November, it won an award at the prestigious World Architecture Festival.
Bright pops of colour and graphics keep the space engaging. Photo: Peter Bennetts
The hostel is one of three candidates to win awards in commercial-property categories of the competition.
Abbotsford Studio in North Melbourne came out on top in the Commercial Interior: Workplace and Retail category.
Designed by the space’s occupier March Studio, the 1972 Japanese Brutalist building, with its deep concrete tones and lack of natural light, provided an interesting canvas for the designers to work on.
The workshop can be seen from the office above on all four sides. Photo: Peter Bennetts
Splashes of orange, blue and bright yellows were used to soften the interiors as well as reflect the era of the building when it was designed.
One of the highlights of the project is the Memphis-style graphics, by graphic designer Anne-Laure Cavigneaux and sign writer Martin Boyle, that brings life to the double-height workshop.
“In this project, colour has been used to transform an industrial space into something more akin to an art installation,” another judge Miriam Fanning said.
Would you be able to focus on your ramen in this restaurant? Photo: Andrew Worssam & Jayden Huang
Pastel and neon tones have been used cleverly. Photo: Andrew Worssam & Jayden Huang
And in western Sydney’s Lidcombe, Wagaya, by Span Design, won the Commercial Interior: Public and Hospitality award.
The soft pink hue was “inspired by the foliage of Japanese cherry blossoms and the passage it creates during hanami (flower viewing) season”, according to the project notes.
The pastel tones are juxtaposed against the bold textured cobalt blue tiles and neon lights.
