The Cyclotron at Royal Darwin Hospital has topped the 2022 Northern Territory Architecture Awards. The project was awarded the Reverend John Flynn Award for Public Architecture and the prestigious Tracy Memorial Award, by DKJ Projects Architecture, during the Awards ceremony on Saturday 4 June at the Darwin Golf Club, Marrara on the Green with over 120 architects, sponsors and guests from the built environment.
This humble and somewhat nondescript building houses a labyrinth of extraordinarily complex uses including laboratories, clean rooms, administrative offices, mechanical spaces and at its centre, a cyclotron. The cyclotron allows for the production of radiochemistry which in turns facilitates the diagnosis of various cancers. Nowhere else in Australia has a cyclotron been housed in its own standalone facility.
The social purpose of this building cannot be understated and the stakeholders who committed to this project ought to be commended. The success of this building relied on DKJ recognising their role was to listen and enable. Where they could, the architect imbued the building with a touch of design flare – but always their decisions were restrained and never arbitrary.
The jury was privileged to visit the RDH Cyclotron by DKJ and were excited to award it The Tracy Memorial Award and the Reverend John Flynn Award in 2022.
The NT Architecture Awards is run by the Australian Institute of Architects. All winners were selected by independent juries. All Named Award and Chapter Award winners will now progress to the 2022 National Architecture Awards held later this year.
List of winners:
The Tracy Memorial Award & Reverend John Flynn Award for Public Architecture | DKJ Projects Architecture | The Cyclotron Royal Darwin Hospital
Jury comments: ‘Of all the projects shortlisted in this year’s awards program, the RDH Cyclotron by DKJ is a wonderful example of how successful architecture is the product of collaboration and integration”.
Chapter Award for Public Architecture | Mode | The Berrimah Farm Molecular Diagnostic Complex
Jury comments: “The Molecular Diagnostic facility at the Berrimah Farm is a great example of how architects can successfully extend their client’s brief. This project goes beyond simply supporting the scientific activities that it houses, it also enhances these activities with the introduction of light, colour and sophisticated planning.
What impressed the jury most of all is that the building does all this without compromising its core function – which is to deliver world-class laboratories conforming to the strictest of biosecurity standards”.
Chapter Award for Heritage | Hames Sharley Architecture | Banksian House
Jury comments: “The jury was impressed with Hames Sharley’s commitment to the architectural heritage of the building. Where possible, many original architectural details were preserved or carefully reproduced, celebrating the original design intent. More importantly, Burnett’s original design which allowed ample cross ventilation to take the edge off those hot sticky nights was given a new lease on life.
The jury were further impressed with how the project team, from tradespeople, consultants and the client, never shied away from their responsibility to thoughtfully refurbish the building”.
Chapter Award for Interior Design | Mode | Manunda House
Jury comments: “The Manunda Place interior is a wonderful example of how a diverse and ever evolving workforce can be catered for with a design that prioritises people over corporate image.
The project flips the typical office hierarchy by placing the closed offices in the centre of the floor plate and locating the majority of the open office next to the windows. Here they can enjoy natural light, ventilation, views and access to balconies. The glazed central offices are afforded privacy with motifs of clouds, cleverly bringing ‘the outside in’. The jury were also impressed with how Mode put the office workers’ needs and wellbeing at the forefront of their design”
Commendation for Commercial Architecture | DKJ Projects Architecture | The Shed
Jury comments: “The Shed joins an under-appreciated segment of architectural design – the industrial building. In the early twentieth century this type of building was seen as the harbingers of new ideas, while more recently the humble industrial building has fallen victim to efficiency and cost. The Shed however bucks this trend by creating an architectural statement in the centre of the Winnellie Industrial zone”.
The People’s Choice Award | Hames Sharley Architecture | Banksian House
Raquel Nicholls-Skene, Executive Director of the Institute’s NT Chapter, commented: “Overall the Banksian House Project was the outright winner of the NT’s People Choice by a majority of votes”.
Other Awards presented on the evening included:
Student Award | Patricia Pindot | presented for student with highest honours in Architecture and Design at Charles Darwin University
President’s Award | Vale Charles H Wright QS Services | for commitment to the built environment in the Northern Territory
For media enquiries contact:
Raquel Nicholls-Skene
Executive Director
Northern Territory Chapter
Australian Institute of Architects
+61 (0) 403 023 425
raquel.ns@architecture.com.au
