Dulux Colour Awards 2025

Prestigious Grand Prix honours the power of one

The Dulux Colour Awards Grand Prix winners have been celebrated for their exemplary use of a solitary colour as the core design strategy. While seemingly simple, this approach demanded significant skill and precision, as beautifully demonstrated in the projects by the design practices in their own unique ways.

The Australian Grand Prix was awarded to Richards Stanisich for its design of the Sarah & Sebastian Armadale store. Its key strategy involved the prominent use of Delta Break, a vibrant green, contrasted with reflective elements within multifaceted spaces. This resulted in an ethereal, underwater-like atmosphere. The judges recognised its originality, timelessness, and transformative quality, deeming it a perfect representation of the Dulux Colour Awards' aspirations, surpassing typical retail design. Richards Stanisich also won the Commercial Interior – Workplace and Retail category.

Pac Studio's Lava Flow won the New Zealand Grand Prix with its bold and impactful design featuring the striking volcanic Murray Red on the ceiling and skylight, a direct nod to Auckland's volcanic landscape. This unexpected use of deep red, contrasted with soft white, creates a powerful visual impact and cleverly manipulates light and shadow to enhance movement and shape perception. Pac Studio was also Commended for this project in the Single Residential Interior category.

“We have been overwhelmed with the exceptional level of innovation expressed in the range of projects this year, " said Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux Colour and Communications Manager. “The combination of extraordinarily original colour use and outstanding architecture across all genres makes the judges’ job difficult but, equally, it is testament to the talent, ambition and commitment of architects and their clients to design with colour.

“Recognising and awarding excellence is a privilege and an inspiration. We are consistently astounded by the calibre of paradigm-shifting projects, and the architects and designers behind them who break boundaries, challenge conventions and defy expectations with their profound appreciation of the potential of colour. It never ceases to amaze us how conceptually courageous and strategically sophisticated the colour schematics are, year-on-year.”

A trend of rule-breaking and genre-defying colour application was evident across all categories. Notably, contemporary colours were used unconventionally in heritage projects to differentiate old from new. Another emerging theme was the softening of traditionally "hard" building types, exemplified by using graduated greens for a cemetery depot, a choice praised for its appropriateness. The student award winners were characterised by sensitivity, sustainability, and optimism. In contrast, the commercial categories pushed colour boundaries in highly expressive and immersive ways.