Awards

Cambridge St by Room11 Architects is a rare and exceptional small project and the jury was unanimous in its selection as this year’s winner of the COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture.

The office fit out has been conceived as a self-contained ‘building within a building’ achieved by a self-supporting steel structure wrapped in a raw mild steel envelope. Housing the core program of meeting rooms, kitchenette and utility spaces, the calm exterior presents as a dark and brooding steel monolith within a crisp white office interior. Another dimension is added when the panels pivot open to reveal an abstract inner realm in a delightful contrast to the outer steel skin; a dynamic ‘installation’ within the space.

The considered application of steel has been expertly conceived and is the very essence of the project. Exploiting the sensory nature of steel, the monolith presents as a cold and hard exterior shell yet is smooth and silken to the touch, free of extraneous detail. In an innovative twist, steel’s magnetic quality has been utilised to provide movable magnetic door handles.

Cambridge St is a delight that demonstrates innovation and excellence in the use of steel.

• Architects Edition Office
• Practice Team Georgia Nowak (Project Architect), Aaron Roberts (Design Architect), Nathan Crump (Project Architect)
• Consultant/Construction Team Keith Long & Associates (Engineer), Kinban Building Consultants (Building Surveyor)
• Builder Humecon
• Photographer Ross Honeysett