Receiving hundreds of submissions from emerging and established design firms across the country, the jury said this year’s shortlisted projects share a “distinctly Australian design aesthetic and a commitment to innovation, beauty and human-centred design”.

Three Woods Bagot projects have been shortlisted in this year’s awards program, with BHP Workplace and Rio Tinto Headquarters shortlisted for the Workplace Over 1000sqm category, and the Woods Bagot-designed Journey Beyond carriages shortlisted for the Colour and Hospitality categories.

Rio Tinto – Workplace Over 1000sqm

Rio Tinto Melbourne Headquarters has been shortlisted for the Workplace Over 1000sqm category. This category celebrates large commercial office designs over 1000 square metres in size. Key considerations include brief, concept, projection of brand ethos, and consideration for workplace culture. The jury also considers spatial acumen, lighting, sustainability, innovation, and originality of overall design outcome.

Rio Tinto’s Melbourne Headquarters reflects the organisation’s approach to education and knowledge sharing, with key design touchstones providing opportunities for visitors and shareholders to learn about the company’s operations.

“The company wanted to showcase a shift in their approach and commitment to change, while educating people about who they are and what they do,” says project leader Marcia Ascencio. “With a focus on the four main minerals and metals – aluminium, bauxite, copper, and iron ore – the arrival space provides investors, clients and school groups with a true insight into the organisation.”

The design embeds a unique sense of place, representing the striations, geology and geometry of the land and Country through texture, colour, and a meandering spatial journey.  

BHP Melbourne – Workplace Over 1000sqm

Shortlisted for the same category, BHP Melbourne workplace is another example of a large commercial fitout with consideration of form and function in the context of a productive and positive workspace environment. The BHP workspace demonstrates commitment to its people with a highly flexible floorplate designed for active collaboration and quiet focus. 

Key drivers for the workplace included: connection to site, embedded sustainability, and respect for diversity and inclusion. The space forges a connection to the land through a textural and tonal scheme representing an abstraction of BHP’s sites. Reuse and repurposing were a large part of the client brief, with BHP encouraging sustainable practices through the revitalisaiton of existing materials during the fitout. Finally, guided by BHP’s internal flexible working principles, the new workplace is designed with a range of typologies to suit diverse working styles.

Journey Beyond Gold Premium Carriages – Colour, Hospitality 

Woods Bagot’s refurbishment of Journey Beyond’s Gold Premium carriages has earnt nominations in two awards categories: Colour and Hospitality.

The Colour award is bestowed on the submission that the jury believes demonstrates the most outstanding use of colour in a project for aesthetic outcome, form delineation, or brand presence. The jury will consider colour use in all aspects of the project, including furnishings, lighting and art, as well as the balance, fluidity and relevance of colours used. Woods Bagot’s refurbishment of the Gold Premium cars references the lands across which the train travels and the people who live on it.  Inspired by the landscape paintings of First Nations artist Albert Namatjira, the palette references the subject matter of his work, from the silver ghost gums to the red tones of the earth.

The Hospitality category considers cafes, bars, restaurants, spas, gyms, hotels, and wellness spaces where smart planning principles are paramount. Designing for a moving locomotive required creative thinking, navigating challenges of motion alongside a compact footprint while including comprehensive amenity to cater to users over their multi-day journey. The designers appraised every detail with care and consideration to address movement, operability, and ergonomics to cater for a wide demographic of traveler.

The 2024 IDEA jury consists of: Brooke Lloyd (Cox), Davina Bester (Milieu Creative), Graham Charbonneau (Studio Gram), Melissa Bright (Studio Bright), Michael Alvisse, Manuela Millan (Cera Stribley).  

The winners will be announced at the annual gala party, held at Forum Melbourne on Friday 29 November.

Read the full 2024 IDEA shortlist here. 

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Isla Sutherland
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