Two Metro Tunnel Project train stations, smash-hit NGV exhibitions and even a Melbourne record bar are among the Victorian projects short-listed by a prestigious interior design competition.
Victorian projects short-listed for the 2026 Australian Interior Design Awards’ include Town Hall station, the Distraction exhibition by Studio Peter King and Studio IO, and Museums Victoria’s Our Wondrous Planet. Pictures: Peter Bennetts, Astrid Mulder, Dianna Snape.
The 2026 Australian Interior Design Awards’ Victorian standouts include the new Anzac and Town Hall rail hubs built as part of the state government’s $15.5bn Metro Tunnel.
Design practices Hassell, Weston Williamson + Partners and RSHP are in the running for a public design gong for their work on the stations.
More than 220 projects from across Australia and overseas made the wider shortlist, such as the NGV’s French Impressionism blockbuster from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in the installation design category.
Also up for this particular prize is the NGV’s collaboration with Studio Peter King for the Westwood | Kawakubo showcase.
More than 150 works by iconic fashion designers Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo are part of the exhibition, which will run until April 19.
The Town Hall station located beneath Swanston Street, designed by Hassell, Weston Williamson + Partners and RSHP, is among the Victorian award nominees. Picture: Peter Bennetts.
Also on the shortlist is the Our Wondrous Planet exhibition and gallery by Museums Victoria which includes hands-on interactives, large-scale immersive projections and stories from First Peoples around the world. Picture: Eugene Hyland.
The NGV’s French Impressionism exhibition from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ran from June 6 to October 5, 2025. Picture: Sean Fennessy.
Visitors marvel at the Our Wondrous Planet exhibition by Museums Victoria. Picture: Tim Carrafa.
The Landmark by Lexus Birdcage pavilion at the 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival, from interior designer Brahman Perera and hospitality and events company The Big Group, is nominated in the same category.
The three-level pavilion, with inspirations as varied as botanic forms and future technology, featured AI-driven installations and digital collages.
Other Victorian projects which made the awards’ cut include Museums Victoria’s Our Wondrous Planet exhibition, the colourful Imaginationation play centre at Chadstone shopping centre by Ateli Architecture, and LB’s Record Bar in Melbourne’s CBD.
Colourful and creative outfits at the Studio Peter King and NGV’s Westwood | Kawakubo showcase. Picture: Sean Fennessy.
Studio Peter King in collaboration with Studio IO have been short-listed the Distraction exhibition at the Science Gallery Melbourne. Picture: Astrid Mulder.
ImaginatioNation by Ateli Architecture is a design-led play centre at Chadstone shopping centre. Picture: Chris Murray.
Our Wondrous Planet takes viewers into the deep. Picture: Dianna Snape.
The brainchild of Merivale Design Studio has walls lined with hundreds of vinyl records.
Merivale’s design director Nasim Koerting said music itself served as the project’s starting point.
“Everything radiates from the idea of a bar built around the ritual of playing records,” Ms Koerting said.
The annual awards are presented by the Design Institute of Australia and Architecture Media’s digital platform InteriorsAu.
LB's Record Bar in Melbourne’s CBD, by Merivale Design Studio, where vinyl rules. Picture: Georges Antoni.
The Landmark by Lexus pavilion at the 2025 Melbourne Cup Carnival, from interior designer Brahman Perera and hospitality and events company The Big Group. Picture: Lillie Thompson.
Another part of the Distraction exhibition which to explores the playful ways humans spend their time in a world of technology. Picture: Astrid Mulder.
This year’s 226-project shortlist aims to recognises outstanding work across residential, commercial and public sectors.
The winners will be announced at a Sydney presentation on June 12.
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