This year’s Dulux Colour Awards saw a record-breaking 527 entries with 83 projects chosen as finalists. These Awards celebrate and recognise exceptional creativity in enhancing the built environment through the innovative use of colour.
Beth, who was then a Master of Architecture (Professional) student at Te Kura Waihanga—School of Architecture, won the student category. The Keeper of My Memories is a colourful fantasy told through architectural reconstructions of Beth’s childhood daydreams.
“I explored colour through stories and characters, using it as a foil to enhance the world-building for each character,” says Beth. “It follows events in a single house with multiple characters, reclaiming worlds imagined by children and tethering them to reality through architecture.
“My design approach has always been bold and vibrant. When the school shared the link to these awards, I thought, ‘yep colour—that’s me!’”
Davina Harper, a Dulux Colour Specialist, praised Beth’s creative use of colour in her winning entry. She highlighted Beth’s ability to create vibrant and whimsical colour schemes that uniquely identified each occupant in her fantasy house.
“Beth uses colour in an extraordinary way. One of my favourite combinations is in the bedroom of the Boatbuilder and Dressmaker—the cool purples of Dulux Moawhango paired with the vibrant blue of Lake Bright.”
Beth enjoys storytelling and world-building within architecture. Her initial interest in the subject stemmed from a passion for storytelling through the built environment.
“I find the analysis of home through imagined spaces the most interesting, the ability to world-build was the most exciting part of studying. I love to imagine the lives of people who will occupy the spaces I design.”
Beth’s design project was shaped by theoretical research, which provided a foundational framework for her project’s exploration. Beginning with painting to capture organic and curved forms from her imagination, these concepts evolved into physical models. She then brought her creative concepts to life by digitally modelling and rendering the final images.
Guy Marriage, Director of the University’s Architecture programme, acknowledges that while architecture is often seen as a serious and earnest field, Beth has defied this notion with her stunning colour-scapes.
“Beth was a fantastic student with a highly imaginative mind, evident in her radically colourful images. She blends aspects of Hawkes Bay harvest festival colours with colder and more Wellington climes, creating these amazing dream worlds that we can almost saunter through.
“It shows that she has an excellent mastery of both colour and space, as well as being adept at computer modelling and producing unbelievable scenarios from her mind, that somehow still seem real. I’m particularly proud of her for being so bold and colourful in her work and the entire Faculty joins me in congratulating her on her achievement.”