Held annually, the WAN Awards cover a wide range of categories, including residential, commercial, public buildings, institutions, and infrastructure. In the 2025 Awards, Woods Bagot’s design for Central Station brought home Gold in the Transport category.  

Jason Fraser brings a diverse and unique design perspective to this year’s judging panel. He’s led award-winning projects, including Blue & William and AURA by Aqualand, both of which have created a strong sense of local context through their design. 

When asked what tips he’d give to entrants, Fraser says, “Great design always embodies a beautiful idea. Design that is simply and subjectively appealing is never particularly enduring.” 

“When people engage with the design outcome intellectually through understanding, there is often a deeper connection forged. Don’t just provide pretty pictures of an outcome, but communicate the beauty of your thinking as well.”  

The WAN Awards are judged by numerous industry professionals representing the full breadth of the global design industry. The judges are selected based on their expertise, experience and integrity and undertake a rigorous and objective judging process. 

“Awards not only encourage those who receive them to continue to strive for better outcomes – they broaden the audience, making the world place a greater value on design. This enables designers to work with clients, teams that have increasingly greater aspirations, elevating the design industry as a whole,” says Fraser.  

“Also, everyone love a trophy.” 

View the full list of judges here.

Submissions are open until 4 September through the portal.  

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Adrien Moffatt
Content and Communications Leader (Australia)