Australia’s Best International Architecture Recognised

A “masterly design response which seamlessly balances history and modernity”, has won two sections in this year’s Australian Institute of Architects International Chapter Architecture Awards.

Membership of the chapter is open to Australian architects and built-environment professionals working abroad.

Paris Apartment by Australian-based Wood Marsh Architecture won the Hugh O’Neil Award for Heritage for its meticulous and sensitive restoration of an apartment within a 17th century Baroque residence.

The original residence was designed in 1668 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, whose most notable work is the Palace of Versailles.

The jury was impressed by the “delightful, complementary contrast and dialogue between the old and the new”, in what was a small but challenging project. 

Wood Marsh Architecture was praised for a “masterly design response to the high-stakes heritage envelope by contrasting French classical and floral style with minimal decor. They met the challenge of balancing respect for the past, and a gallery style contemporary residence, with confidence”.

The apartment was also awarded the International Chapter Award for Interior Architecture for its “sophisticated understanding and approach to the prevailing design issues … evident in their selection of materials and colour palette appropriate for the soft Parisian light that bathes the interiors”, the jury said.

Lu Style in the Beijing CBD by Schin Architects with Atelier W won the International Award for Interior Architecture. The jury said it was “delighted by the sensuous and tactile insertion of a restaurant into a rigid, nondescript commercial complex”. 

Inspired by the “evanescent pleasures and the transience of beauty” of the Southern Song Dynasty of the 12th century, and the littoral origins of the food served at the restaurant, the architects have created a “dynamic and evocative setting for one of China’s great culinary traditions”.

KHA Pte Ltd was awarded the International Chapter Award for Commercial Architecture for their design of Ritz-Carlton Maldives [pictured, top] in the Fari Islands.

The project delivers an unfamiliar architectural language from Kerry Hill Architects, marking the “emergence of a new design dialect” for the firm.

Described by the jury as an “enigmatic scheme”, the Ritz-Carlton is part of an ambitious lifestyle precinct with the circular accommodation villas and curved walkways located on marine-engineered islands. These are juxtaposed with larger, rectilinear structures across the site.

The International Chapter Award for Residential Architecture—Multiple Housing was awarded to The Park Santa Monica by Koning Eizenberg Architecture. 

The ambitious development, which includes 249 apartments, a 0.4ha rooftop park and significant ground-floor retail space, demonstrated a European sense of special and social consequence in the development of this typical typology in the interactive courtyards of the plan.

“The traditional street wall is reconsidered through a series of stand-alone blocks perpendicular to the long site dimensions,” the jury said.

Te Ao Marama South Atrium by fjcstudio (formerly fjmtstudio), with Jasmax and DesignTRIBE, was awarded an International Chapter Commendation for Public Architecture.

The project transforms the colonial plan of the existing south atrium, the Tamaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial, into a culturally inclusive gathering and ceremony space, rich with the representation of the Maori and Pasifika cultures of Aotearoa/New Zealand. 

▲ John Wei Shun Chow and Datuk Pei Ing Tan.

The 2023 International Chapter Emerging Architect prize winner was John Wei Shun Chow, of Metagram.

The jury recognised John for the work of his architectural practice, Metagram, his leadership roles in the Australian Institute of Architects International Chapter and the Hong Kong Interior Design Association, and his commitment to raising awareness of ‘net zero’ and other carbon reduction initiatives. 

Datuk Pei Ing Tan was honoured with a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects for her involvement and advocacy in the international architecture community.

Pei Ing Tan is a Malaysian architect who has been in practice in Malaysia since graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1985. She has been a long-standing member of the Australian Institute of Architects, serving on the International Chapter Council for several years and the Institute’s National Gender Equity Committee. 

The International Chapter Architecture Awards were announced at an in-person celebration at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen on July 8.

The International Chapter winners will now move on to be considered in the prestigious National Architecture Awards program later in the year.