TASMANIA: Tasmanian Architects' Promote Tourism

Eco-tourism projects inspired by the Tasmanian landscape are among the winners in this year's state architecture awards.

Dale Campisi from the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Institute of Architects said local architects played a key role in the current wave of success being enjoyed in the tourism sector.

Several tourism developments took out top awards at a ceremony on Saturday, including the Devil's Corner winery near Bicheno, lodges on the Three Capes Track, and accommodation "pods" at historic Hatherley House in Launceston.

Mr Campisi said architects were often inspired by the state's untouched landscape.

"The Three Capes Track is a great example of that, a really sensitive insertion," he said.

"But then you know, compare Cumulus Studio's very bold statement at Devil's Corner on the east coast, that is a big piece of architecture but what an amazing vista you get from it, and it's a really interesting and a bold architectural statement.

"Certainly when we think about tourism in Tasmania, we need to recognise that architecture plays a key role in the success of that industry at the moment.

"The setting for architecture in Tasmania is a really important thing to our local architects."

Another of the night's big winners was the Dunalley House, built to replace a holiday home lost in the 2013 bushfires.

Architect Stuart Tanner won an award for new residential development, as well as a people's choice award.

"My clients lost their house in the Dunalley fire, it was quite an emotional experience for them, and so it's quite an honour to be asked to give them a place that they can return to and enjoy," he said.

"For it to be recognised in this way is really nice for them.

"I think everyone involved, the engineers, the builders, they all contributed and it's great in that sense that people can be recognised."

Architect Craig Rosevear, from Rosevear Stephenson, worked on Jenny's House, a Georgian home in the historic Hobart neighbourhood of Battery Point which won two awards.

He said there was a deep appreciation for built heritage in the area.

"The process requires you to do it sensitively and respect the place. I think it's come out of a bigger objective by the people who look after the city really, and it's really just up to us to make sure we engage with it properly and respect those qualities," he said.

"It was a very modest project - a very personal one too, for a retired woman whose husband had passed away ... so it was a very moving project to be involved in."

Hobart College at Mount Nelson was recognised with an Enduring Architecture Award.

The Mountain Retreat Medical Centre in South Hobart, built by Circa Morris-Nunn won the prestigious John Lee Archer Triennial Prize for the best example of commercial architecture from the previous three years.