Jury comment
There is so much to praise about Campbell House, and the jury unanimously felt it was the clear, fair stand-out in the category. It is timeless, elegant, unified and finely detailed and could very much work as a universal application – it could be a home, it could be a retail store, it could be a workplace. Its materiality is particularly impressive, and the way the palette is used to celebrate the heritage and contemporary integration is outstanding. The highly notable sustainability credentials are significant and embedded in every aspect, and the project demonstrates innovation not just through its green credentials, but also in its respectful interaction with the existing architecture.
Design statement
Campbell House in Sydney is the adaptive reuse of an 1890s early Federation house set within a Heritage Conservation area. The integrated design approach of architecture-heritage-interior stitched together unifies the contemporary office use and the original building.
This project is an exemplar environmental design that is based on natural light, passive ventilation, material selection and electricity generation all facilitated by the new contemporary intervention. A glazed roof spans across the two existing roof ridges on the north of the site. Solar blades overhead absorb the northern sun via the use of photovoltaic panels to generate electricity while providing shade that keeps the interior cool. The glass roof allows maximum natural light to flood the core of the interior as well as breakout areas, while the solar blades minimize the heat load. Glass louvres positioned at both high and low levels on the north, south and west facades allow for passive ventilation to the circulation and breakout spaces. With interior biophilia in mind, conditions have been established to sustain a mature Weeping Fig tree.
Campbell House is located in Sydney, NSW, and built on the land of the Gadigal and Birrabirragal people of the Eora nation.
Project credits
Design practice – Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
Project team – Tim Greer, Nazia Kachwalla, Camilla Van den Berg, Roger O’Sullivan, Kevin Lee, Sara Valentin, Tracy Lau, Madeleine Gallagher
The Premier Award for Interior Design is supported by Dulux. The Australian Interior Design Awards are presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Artichoke magazine. For more images of this project, see the Australian Interior Design Awards gallery.
