Affordable housing finished with bold colours wins top award

New Zealand and Australian designers and architects have been honoured for their outstanding design and original use of colour on projects at the 38th Dulux Colour Awards.

Architects and designers were honoured for 18 projects across eight categories in addition to the best-in-class Grand Prix awards.

New Zealand Grand Prix winner

New Zealand Grand Prix winner, COMMON Architecture + Interiors, highlighted colour as a cost-effective and impactful design strategy for Seven Colour Little Houses, low-cost housing in Christchurch.

These Seven Colourful Little Houses are low maintenance, long lasting and healthy homes accessible to a wide range of occupiers, adding to the vibrancy of the wider community and demonstrating the important role colour has to play when reimagining the suburban quarter acre dream.

The block colour scheme was tailored for each individual dwelling and continued throughout the interior in a playful, yet considered manner – from flooring finishes, joinery and selected paint finishes to interior elements.

The use of colour was used to create a sense of harmony and balance to the overall street elevation, creating the illusion of depth, movement, and texture as important design elements to the wider suburban context.

The colour scheme inspiration resulted as a commentary on the monotonous street scene so often seen in these suburban environments and was the result of a suburb wide research, seeking out hints of colour already in use in the established wider built context, then reimagining and reinterpreting them into a contemporary outcome, illustrating the power of singular bold colour selections. 

The use of block colours represents a fun and playful approach to individualising each dwelling, while maintaining a considered and consistent aesthetic to the overall development.

What the judges said:

"Colour blocking entire homes aligned in a series of seven, no less, proves that bold, singular design strategies can be affordable, impactful and create deep, positive impressions in our built environment.

"Breaking the norm of a satellite town outside Christchurch, these modest dwellings eschew the prevailing cookie-cutter style and add a street presence that is truly uplifting. 

"Their tonal values are beautifully balanced, from dusky blues and sage greens, through to red and orange, against silver and off-white, demonstrating a process of great consideration and commitment to reimagining the suburban sprawl.

"While each is individually tailored, with their unique palettes continued internally in fixtures, finishes and joinery, it is the collective impact on the broader community that we particularly commend.

"The architects wholeheartedly fulfilled their ambition to use colour to add a sense of harmony and balance to the street elevation and recognise depth, movement and texture as important design elements in the wider suburban context."

Sarosh Mulla, judge

Australian Grand Prix winner

Australian Grand Prix winner, Lachlan Seegers Architect, was unanimously applauded for the deep, burnished red ceiling of its Alexandria House project in Sydney, revealing how the power of colour can transform our experience of architecture.

Overall judges comments:

“If there is a dominant theme this year, it is the use of colour in all-encompassing ways, from coating every surface of a room in a single shade to painting an entire building in tonal graduations of one colour,” says Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux colour and communications manager.

Photographer: Stephen Goodenough

Story by: Trendsideas