The 4th International Green Interior Awards were held late last month to great acclaim with winners from all over the globe honoured for their designs. And the winners are…
Category: Office – Large AND Overall Winner
Project: Etsy Headquarters
Winner: Gensler, USA
At 225,000 square feet, Etsy’s new Brooklyn headquarters is currently the largest Living Building Challenge Petal-certified commercial building in the world and the only LBC certified building in New York City. Additionally, Etsy is the only public technology company to attain LBC (Living Building Challenge) certification. The design of Etsy’s new headquarters aspires to be a fully independent, regenerative ecosystem that sets a bar for a more dynamic and robust interpretation of sustainability. The Gensler project team sought out LBC compliant construction materials, ultimately vetting more than 1,500 materials for Red List, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) compliance, and ingredient disclosure.
Category: Education
Project: Rockdale Library and Council Customer Service
Winner: CK Design International, Australia
Sustainability is not only achieved by selection of materials but also for the approach to design, and ensuring flexibility and functionality of spaces, such as the Customer Service Centre meeting rooms and waiting areas, which become an extension of the library when the Customer Service Centre closes, ensuring the use of resources is always maximised.
Category: Student – Product Innovation
Project: Biophilic Light
Winner: Laura Van de Wijdeven, William De Kooning Academy, Holland
The lampshade is biodegradable at the end of its life. As soon as you want to throw it away, you can leave it with your vegetable waste. But the material can also stay in a good condition for years. The main ingredient is potato based bioplastic – contains glycerine, potato starch, water and vinegar
Category: Product Innovation
Project: Graphenstone – Paints for the Green Generation.
Winner: Graphenstone Australia
Graphenstone has developed a product range with a whole green life cycle. It complies with the reuse, reduce and recycle philosophy, guaranteeing the most efficient use of materials. For that reason, Graphenstone meets the Cradle To Cradle Certification program requirements, being the only paint in the world with GOLD rate. Graphenstone eliminates any concept of waste and becomes a product with a green life cycle.
Category: Retail
Project: Trailwolf Cycles
Winner: Earthworld Inside, South Africa
At Trailwolf Cycles, a retail outlet and bicycle workshop at the Wolwespruit Cycling Trail (Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa), recycled materials were used in unconventional ways. A display element was created that resembles a track from OSB and cardboard fins which portrays the idea of movement and energy. The use of cardboard was repeated in the partitioning with Craft paper rolls, which contributes to the acoustic properties of the partition.
Category: Office – Small
Project: Bently Enterprises Farmer’s Bank Adaptive Reuse
Winner: Revel Architecture & Design, USA
The design of the project became a carefully calibrated selection of which historic elements to preserve and which green products could fit seamlessly into the historic context—while coming together to create a contemporary workplace. The new elements and materials that make up most of the building are faced or treated to look historic and create a perfect illusion of originating in history. Some of the historic building elements were reused to create custom design elements.
Category: Office – Medium
Project: WT Partnership
Winner: Cachet Group, Australia
One of the WT Partnership’s main objectives was to achieve a 5 Star GBCA (Green Building Council of Australia) Interiors rating. Although the building itself was relatively new, the fitout needed to be completed in alignment with the ratings tool, which involved the use of recycled materials, energy-saving lighting, WELS rated tapware, reused furniture and also the incorporation of multi-functional spaces.
Category: Residential – New
Project: Emerald Star
Winner: Dwell Development, USA
Developed by the Built Green residential building program, Emerald Star certification is the highest level of green certification with a rigorous checklist of requirements including net zero electricity using renewables, 70% reduction in water use, 90% reclaimed materials or FSC certified wood, and exceptional indoor air quality. This home features an innovative use of green materials, products and systems including reclaimed wood and metal from an old cannery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Category: Residential – New
Project: Alexandria Residence
Winner: CplusC Architectural Workshop, Australia
The Alexandria Residence has reinvented terrace living by locating the vertical circulation in the front façade with a glass and timber batten circular stair doubling as a greenhouse. The house combines cutting edge architectural design with off grid green initiatives. The terrace is a beautiful, small footprint home on a tight urban site that incorporates a wide range of active and passive sustainability measures inside and out.
Category: Residential – Renovation
Project: Skygarden House
Winner: Dubbeldam Architecture + Design, Canada
The project reworks an older home while maintaining the existing shell, using interior design strategies to “expand” the interior space without increasing the footprint of the house. In order to achieve this, materials and products were chosen to maximize the perception of a larger space and reflect natural light that is drawn into the space. Light-filled living spaces open up to rear garden with sustainable materials also used on the exterior. Materials and products were carefully selected that maintain the highest green standards and have low VOC emission ratings.
Category: Student – Projects
Project: Chalmers Hall Renovation
Winner: Chad Kraus from Dirt Works Studio, USA
In the Chalmers Hall renovation, the studio transformed a highly visible/trafficked area of an existing campus building into a beautiful, highly functional space without ever losing sight of the fundamental principles of sustainability.
For more information on all the winners visit http://greeninteriorawards.com.au/winners/
