Cairns firms sweep prestigious Far North Queensland Architecture Awards
Cairns architects have cleaned-up at a prestigious awards ceremony, with some of the city’s most iconic buildings honoured for their impeccable designs and innovative restorations.
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Cairns architects have cleaned-up at a prestigious awards ceremony, with some of the city’s most iconic buildings honoured for their impeccable designs and innovative restorations.
The Australian Institute of Architects Far North Queensland Architecture Awards recognises the best architectural work in the region, awarding exceptional architects for unique projects.
Historic Cairns Regional Council held building-turned-art-precinct, the Mulgrave Gallery snapped up the highest honour of the night, winning the 2025 Eddie Orbin Award for Building of the Year.
TPG Architects director and head architect on The Mulgrave Gallery project Roger Mainwood said his team diligently walked the line between preserving a heritage-listed building and bringing it into the 21st century.
“It was originally built in 1912 to be the Cairns Shire Office, and in 1940 it became the Shire Office and Chambers for the new local government area of Mulgrave,” Mr Mainwood said.
“When you go to the building now, you’ll see we’ve reconstructed the original wraparound veranda which was removed in the 1950s.
“During demolition work we found evidence of the original flooring of the veranda, and with the help of historical photographs we were able to redetail the original 1912 veranda.
“The ceiling and the interior was another important heritage element of the building which we were able to preserve while also introducing modern light fixtures and airconditioning.”
Mr Mainwood said he was thrilled that TPG Architects won Building of the Year for the restoration, which was completed in August 2024.
“It’s a real honour to be recognised by our peers for these awards,” he said.
The Floriana Boutique Hotel, which has become an icon of the Esplanade, snagged Regional Project of the Year at the Far North Queensland Architecture Awards.
Head architect on the project Gisela Jung, from CA Architects, also wrested with a complex restoration for the heritage-listed hotel.
“The building was originally constructed in 1939 for Maltese migrant Paul Zammit and his family,” Ms Jung said.
“It’s a state heritage-listed building that had some really wonderful spaces, but it was quite modified over the years.
“It used to be a very grand ballroom on the ground floor, which was unfortunately divided into a series of smaller units in the 1980s.
“So we took our time opening it up and demolishing it carefully to see what we would find, and then trying to just bring it back to its former glory.
“The Zammit family had a quite interesting life, during the war they had a lot of parties in the ballroom so we thought it would be fantastic to restore that space and give it back to the community for parties and events.”
After five years of challenging restoration Ms Jung was delighted to receive Regional Project of the Year.
“It’s one of those projects you work on for a long time and you put a lot of love and effort into it, so it’s an amazing honour to win this award,” she said.
Other Cairns buildings to receive awards at Friday’s ceremony include NEArchitecture’s the Duffy residences which won House of the Year, and Clarke’s McLeod St Administration Redevelopment which picked up the People’s Choice Award.
The Australian Institute of Architects Far North Queensland Architecture Awards was held on Friday night May 16, 2025, all winning projects are now be eligible for the Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland State Architecture Awards which will be held in June 2025.
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Originally published as Cairns firms sweep prestigious Far North Queensland Architecture Awards
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