A house with colour-blocked ceilings of deep red throughout has won the judges over in the 2024 Dulux Colour Awards announced this month.
Australian Grand Prix winner Lachlan Seegers Architect was unanimously applauded for the burnished red ceiling of its ‘Alexandria House’ project in Sydney, revealing how the power of colour can transform our experience of architecture.
“Its success essentially comes down to a singular gesture: the colour blocking of the ceiling in a deep, burnished red – a highly original design decision that boldly challenges accepted norms”, the judges said.
“Intensifying the impact of this strategy is the juxtaposition of the painted ceiling with the Natural White™ walls, a stark contrast, which results in the roof plane precisely articulating the interior’s spatial relationships.
“It is a defining move, bold in its simplicity and impactful in the drama it creates, particularly during the day, when the glossy surface takes on nuanced hues as the natural light shifts. By night, the effect of the darkened ceiling is equally surprising, as it essentially vanishes to create a void akin to the night sky.
“Minimal and quiet, any potential starkness here is cleverly offset by the soft textures of earthy hues, pigments and aggregates on select surfaces. It all coalesces into a deeply moving, soulful space, an architectural wonder exemplifying the power of a single colour and the potential of a unique strategy, confidently executed, to establish a new paradigm.”
The New Zealand Grand Prix winner, COMMON Architecture + Interiors, highlighted colour as a cost-effective and impactful design strategy for ‘Seven Colour Little Houses’, a low-cost housing project in Christchurch.
“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,” said Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux Colour and Communications Manager.
The winners, as judged by five design industry professionals from Australia and New Zealand, were selected from 83 finalists and a record 527 entries.
