Golf club’s reimagining shortlisted in interior design awards

THE redevelopment of the historic Barwon Heads Golf Club has been recognised at a national level, making the shortlist in two noted design awards.

The $20 million project is a finalist in the hospitality design category at this year’s Australian Interior Design Awards and in the commercial interior category at the Dulux Colour Awards.

About six years in the making, the redevelopment was completed late last year.

Architectural firm Demaine Partnership won the tender to design the project, with interiors by Nexus Designs.

Overlooking 13th Beach, the Victorian Heritage Register-listed clubhouse is more than 100 years old. It was the first country club in Victoria and the first private residential golf club in the state to offer accommodation.

The project includes refurbished accommodation, redeveloped conference and dining spaces, an updated billiard room, new amenities and administration areas, a feature interconnecting staircase, and remodelled back-of-house facilities.

Nexus Designs creative director Sonia Simpfendorfer said the aim was to create a seamless blend between old and new.

“I’d like to think that if you visited the clubhouse for the first time, you would find it hard to identify what was old and what was new,” Simpfendorfer said.

“You’d just think it was exactly what you had hoped to find inside when you drove up to this atmospheric, historic 100-year-old clubhouse on the dunes.

“Everything we did or changed was high stakes as the club was so deeply loved by the members, but it needed a significant functional overhaul and an aesthetic one, too.

“We achieved seamless transitions between new and old and it just feels effortless to be in, and the members love it too. They are very proud of it, and it has already attracted a huge amount of attention – and envy – from other clubs.”

Now in its 23rd year, the Australian Interior Design Awards are widely regarded as the industry’s leading benchmark for excellence and innovation, celebrating Australian interior design both here and overseas.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the Dulux Colour Awards, and recognise innovative, original and ambitious use of colour in the built environment.

From more than 540 entries across Australia and New Zealand, 94 finalists were selected by a panel of design and architecture professionals.

The winners of the Dulux Colour Awards will be announced on 28 May, while Australian Interior Design Award recipients will be revealed on 12 June.