Design Institute of Australia launches inaugural awards
Bates Smart scoops Best Place at inaugural Design Institute of Australia Awards with an acute medical services building, the Gandel Wing at Cabrini Malvern

The Design Institute of Australia (DIA) – Australia’s national design body, has recently announced the winners for its inaugural Designers Australia 2021 Awards. The three categories ‘Place,’ ‘Use’ and ‘Interact’ boast a wealth of forward-thinking projects across the country. ‘Place’ recognises the spaces we inhabit, live, and operate in; ‘Use’ celebrates the things we use; while ‘Interact’ showcases who and what we engage with.
The ‘Place’ category was won by multidisciplinary design practice Bates Smart for its acute medical services building, the Gandel Wing, at the Cabrini hospital in Malvern, Australia. The jury was unanimous in selecting the new seven-storey wing for its exemplary approach to design, wellness, and healthcare architecture. Stretching 16,350 sq m, the scheme delivers state-of-the-art cancer, cardiac, and geriatric care facilities alongside a radiotherapy bunker. Gandel Wing was praised by the judges for its high levels of comfort, safety, and dignity.
Bates Smart approached every aspect of the project through the lens of the patient to ensure that each space functions from both a medical and aesthetic perspective. To do this, the award-winning practice worked closely with medical teams to create mock-ups of clinical medical work areas. Centring on wellness, healthcare, and technology, the building focuses on healing and creating a welcoming environment. ‘The Gandel Wing’s natural finishes, rounded edges and neutral palette illustrate the power of buildings that can heal,’ stated jurors and design educators Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano.
Other Design Institute of Australia Award winners
Sydney-based design studio DesignByThem won the ‘Use’ category for its seating series, DL Range by GibsonKarlo and Dion Lee. A collaboration between industrial designers and DesignByThem founders Nicholas Karlovasitis and Sarah Gibson, and Australian fashion designer Dion Lee, the project combines impressive Italian saddle leather with slick organic materials and sleek angular silhouettes.
The ‘Interact’ category went to Monash University XYX Lab for HyperSext City – an online repository that collates data by crowdsourcing from communities, researchers, and individuals across the globe. While the President’s Prize was won by multidisciplinary designer Ed Linacre for his contribution to the design lexicon and commitment to diversity and equality.
DIA president Gavin Campbell stated that ‘since 1948, the Design Institute of Australia has been committed to nurturing and empowering designers. It is pleasing to see the culmination of these awards, responses to design shifts while also being a part of our collective future.’
INFORMATION
batessmart.com
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Shawn Adams is an architect, writer, and lecturer who currently teaches at Central St Martins, UAL and the Architectural Association. Shawn trained as an architect at The Royal College of Art, Architectural Association and University of Portsmouth. He is also the co-founder of the socially-minded design practice Power Out of Restriction. In 2023, POoR won the London Design Festival’s Emerging Design Medal. Shawn writes for numerous international magazines about global architecture and design and aims to platform the voices of those living across the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa.
-
The ultimate beach accessory? The Fiat Topolino Vilebrequin is a true meeting of minds
Fiat has teamed up with swimwear specialists Vilebrequin to create a Collector’s Edition of the pint-sized Topolino EV that pays homage to the glamour of Riviera life
-
Multi-functional furniture, integrated planting and a felt landscape shape this new office
Zeller & Moye’s new HQ space for a German IT company has been designed to accommodate every kind of office working situation, from introverted cubicles through to flexible open-plan spaces
-
Step inside a Hollywood Hills home where European design meets Californian ease
LA studio Broad Project takes us inside its cinematic renovation of a 1960s Spanish Revival home in the Hollywood Hills
-
The 2025 Obel Award is scooped not by an architect or building, but by a movement
HouseEurope! has won the 2025 Obel Award; the non-profit organisation has been advocating for ecological and social transformation in the built environment
-
A Republic Tower apartment refresh breathes new life to a Melbourne classic
Local studio Multiplicity's refresh signals a new turn for an iconic Melbourne landmark
-
A Japanese maple adds quaint charm to a crisp, white house in Sydney
Bellevue Hill, a white house by Mathieson Architects, is a calm retreat layered with minimalism and sophistication
-
A redesigned warehouse complex taps into nostalgia in Queensland
A warehouse in Queensland has been transformed from neglected industrial sheds to a vibrant community hub by architect Jared Webb, drawing on the typology's nostalgic feel
-
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa on harmony, nature and their RIBA gong
The SANAA duo are celebrating their RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 in London today, and talked to us about self-reflection, the year ahead, and the need to create harmony in our environment
-
Australian bathhouse ‘About Time’ bridges softness and brutalism
‘About Time’, an Australian bathhouse designed by Goss Studio, balances brutalist architecture and the softness of natural patina in a Japanese-inspired wellness hub
-
The humble glass block shines brightly again in this Melbourne apartment building
Thanks to its striking glass block panels, Splinter Society’s Newburgh Light House in Melbourne turns into a beacon of light at night
-
A contemporary retreat hiding in plain sight in Sydney
This contemporary retreat is set behind an unassuming neo-Georgian façade in the heart of Sydney’s Woollahra Village; a serene home designed by Australian practice Tobias Partners