AUSTRALIA’S MOST INSPIRING RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE

HOUSES AWARDS 2017 WINNERS

*DETAILS UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL SATURDAY 5 AUGUST 2017*

A modest Queensland home renovation is the Australian House of the Year for 2017. Selected by a panel of

industry experts, Auchenflower House by Vokes and Peters is a sophisticated and considered suburban home

that proves a modest budget does not limit innovation.

Auchenflower House is joined in its accolades by a diverse array of projects, including a Melbourne home

designed for a client suffering from chronic insomnia, a futuristic winter apartment inspired by the Japanese

space capsules and a heritage home that incorporates a large jacaranda tree into its design.

Now in its seventh year, the Houses Awards program represents the zenith of residential architecture and

highlights the important role architects play in shaping the Australian way of life. The awards offer a fascinating

insight into the zeitgeist of antipodean design and the way architects meet the challenges of creating a

home in contemporary Australia.

The winning projects were selected by an esteemed panel of architects and industry experts. This year’s jury

consisted of Richard Kirk (Director, Kirk), Wendy Lewin (Principal, Wendy Lewin Architect), Ian Moore (Principal,

Ian Moore Architects), Juliet Moore (Director, Edwards Moore) and Katelin Butler (Editor, Houses Magazine).

Advice for the House in a Heritage Context category was provided by Peter Williams (Founding Director,

WilliamsBoag Architects).

The winners and commended projects and will be announced at the annual Houses Awards gala night, held

4 August at the National Gallery of Victoria. The complete list of winners and commendations can be viewed

online from Saturday 5 August at the Houses Awards website – housesawards.com.au and will also be

published in the August edition of Houses magazine.

Australian House of the Year – Auchenflower House by Vokes and Peters

-Please find all winning projects along with full jury citations on the following pages-

THE AWARDS

Australian House of the Year – Auchenflower House by Vokes and Peters (Auchenflower, QLD)

Jury Citation

This project is distinguished by its deceptive simplicity. It is the result of the architecture practice’s sustained

investigations into the Queensland vernacular, and the straightforward application and sensory qualities of

utilitarian materials.

By identifying “the private house as a critical piece of city-making,” the architects confer on this project a

commonly missed role. In detail, the interpretation of the brief and site aligns with Fernando Távora’s idea

that “each case is a case.”

The architects’ siting strategy explores the potential of quiet suburban spaces and associations, apparent

and real boundaries and notions of private and communal space.

The building forms, scale, plans, details, composition and sections acknowledge the suburban street-corner

relationship, making beautiful connections with the carefully observed conditions of the site.

Auchenflower House offers an inventive model for working with traditional housing on suburban blocks and

provides an intelligent and poetic paradigm for current practice.

THE AWARDS

New House Under 200 Square Metres – Balnarring Retreat by Branch Studio Architects (Balnarring, VIC)

Jury Citation

Balnarring Retreat is a humble, hardworking dwelling that offers flexibility in use through cleverly crafted,

simple, low-tech operable systems. Whether used as a studio or private residence, it is a place to slow down

and retreat from the frantic pace of contemporary life.

The honest materiality creates a simple palette, strengthening the dwelling’s connection with the

surrounding native landscape. The jury was taken with the idea that this compact and efficient building

could be easily adapted to suit multiple and varied locations – a prototype for considered, easy-to-

construct and affordable homes. This little retreat reminds us that you don’t need much space or

technology to enjoy the pleasures of life.

The building is a delightful response to a complex brief and limited budget. It relies on the simplicity of an

efficient plan and raw materials to create a delightful building that looks set to become an integral part of

the landscape in which it has settled.

THE AWARDS

New House Over 200 Square Metres – Fish Creek House by Edition Office (Foster, VIC)

Jury Citation

An abstract object sits embedded in the landscape – a long, highly textured wall wrapping three black

timber pavilions and enclosing five courtyards. The structures offer shelter from the at-times harsh climate,

as well as views over the extraordinary landscape and coastline to the east.

The textured brick wall, with its carefully curated mortar jointing, anchors the building to the site. Its earthen

materiality is attuned to the landscape, mediating between screening a busy road to the west and

opening up to the view.

The planning of the house into three discrete pavilions separated by courtyards allows for the entry of

northern light along its length, and for the incremental shutting down or opening up of the house to suit

either its owners – an elderly couple – or larger family gatherings.

Building a sizeable project with a high level of quality and detail on a relatively modest budget is a

significant achievement in itself. This project goes much further – it offers an alternative model for ageing

in place, with careful consideration of the single-level plan, the accessibility of bathrooms, access to

outdoor spaces and an acute awareness of scale.

THE AWARDS

House Alteration and Addition Over 200 Metres – Burleigh Street House by ME (Burleigh Heads, QLD)

Jury Citation

The addition of two new pavilions, one to the north and one to the south, has skilfully transformed an existing

single-storey bungalow. The pavilions are slightly separated from the original to allow light and ventilation into

the home, while enabling the introduction of gardens into these interstitial spaces.

The main living space links all three structures, forming significant outdoor rooms to both the north and south,

with the transition from inside to outside barely perceptible. This ambiguity between interior and exterior

spaces significantly contributes to the liveability of the house.

The gifting of the front garden to the street challenges the arrangement of carports and front fences typical

of the area. The garage door is almost imperceptible, aided by the use of tyre tracks instead of a full concrete

driveway, further integrating the house and landscape.

Simple skillion roofs on the two pavilions mirror the original gable to form a sha llow “W” and provide greater

height to the street, where three abstract window projections produce further ambiguity. These windows are

carefully articulated with timber slats and muted primary colours set against an otherwise white-painted

weatherboard background. The use of standard materials and domestic construction gives a subtle nod to

the long-lost beach shacks of the Gold Coast.

THE AWARDS

House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Metres (Joint Winner) – Auchenflower House by Vokes and Peters

(Auchenflower, QLD)

Jury Citation

This alteration and addition by Vokes and Peters, to a modest timber cottage in Brisbane’s Auchenflower, is

as much about what hasn’t been done as what has been done to the original home. The architectural

language is derived from a celebration of the existing structure and the suburban context in which it sits.

Sensitively responding to the familiar language of the traditional Queenslander house, the new extension

features an adaptation of the traditional battened back stair to form the motif for its side elevation. This

element also serves as a striking graphic element that responds to the slope of the site and adds a memorable

addition to the neighbourhood – especially important given its prominent corner location.

The house has been reorientated to the garden, with large openings at the rear of the house and a new

sitting area overlooking the backyard. Internally, social connections are promoted by the design of

interconnected living spaces that also allow for casual adult supervision of the children.

Showing restraint and elegance, this home is an exemplary example of updating a house to suit

contemporary family life while embracing and honouring the original dwelling.

THE AWARDS

House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Metres (Joint Winner) – A Pavilion Between Trees by Branch Studio

Architects (Balnarring, VIC)

Jury Citation

This new pavilion structure provides a main bedroom suite to an existing dwelling, with an atmospheric

palette of raw materials designed to reflect the mood of the functions of the space.

The pavilion was designed with minimal artificial lighting to create a “natural atmosphere” in which to relax

and unwind. This is a calm and intimate environment with varying layers of privacy and a careful

connection to the landscape.

The refined building envelope sits delicately within the landscape, combining charcoal rammed earth and

the reflective quality of large panels of glass to connect the structure with its surrounds.

The pavilion is exquisitely detailed and so is the transition between the existing house and the new structure.

The internal topography of stepped floor planes further defines the variety of functions and degrees of

connectivity with the landscape.

This is a precious gem of a building that has clearly been conceived with a passion for the manipulation of

raw materials and their impact on the surrounding environment.

THE AWARDS

Apartment or Unit – Bobhubski by March Studio (Falls Creek, VIC)

Jury Citation

Both Ekuan Kenji’s radical 1962 Capsule House and Kurokawa Kisho’s socially optimistic 1972 Nakagin Capsule

Tower define one of the few moments in the history of architecture that gave rise to a typology that highlights

how little the house and apartment typology has changed.

To misinterpret the historic architectural quotations in this project as “scenographic” or “nostalgic” would be

a mistake. It is timely for architects to engage with history and ideas that might provide a springboard for

future thinking.

With a floor area of twenty-seven square metres, this lean project is an acknowledgement of the creativity of

the Japanese Metabolism movement. More importantly, it is a contemporary example that develops a

spatially rich infill, adaptive re-use and multiple housing project as paradigm.

The jury lauds the design principles of the project and its assumed Loosian approach, where “form is fit for

purpose.” This work is manifestly founded on passion and intelligence in architecture.

THE AWARDS

House in a Heritage Context – Jac by Panov Scott Architects (Dulwich Hill, NSW)

Jury Citation

The house in Dulwich Hill by Panov Scott was unanimously selected as the winner of the heritage category.

In this wonderful project, the key criterion of delivering an excellent design outcome within a heritage context

is achieved many times over, from initial concept to completion. Of great interest is the manner in which the

designers have insightfully demonstrated their ability to identify, understand and articulate what they believe

to be the critical heritage aspects of the site, but without statutory controls or guidelines present for those

elements. In turn, they have used these elements to underpin a very “real” project in response to a client brief.

By adding a beautifully configured, two-storey companion building to the rear of the existing four-room 1907

brick row house (one of seven), the architects have skillfully crafted architecture that is intimately integrated

with the site, the heritage origins and the immediate landscape, enriched as it is by an impressive jacaranda

tree.

As a demonstration of focused, high-level design skills, this project is exemplary. It shows – without doubt – that

a sophisticated design approach will produce a particular and personally fulfilling architectural outcome.

THE AWARDS

Outdoor – Waterloo House by Anthony Gill Architects with Budwise Garden Design (Waterloo, NSW)

Jury Citation

In this modest but ambitious project, the architect has used a light touch to maintain and enhance a house

already well loved by its owners. A series of courtyard gardens is integral to and indivisible from the interior,

with each room in the house opening to or overlooking a densely planted external space.

Lightweight pergolas provide shade and privacy from overlooking to the rear courtyard, while the hit-and-

miss recycled brick screen wall around the first-floor bathroom courtyard provides privacy, shade, cooling

and outlook. The re-use of salvaged bricks from the demolition of the original rear wing, for both paving

and new walls, provides a robust and maintenance-free structure intended to be completely absorbed by

the lush and dense planting over time.

This project demonstrates minimal intervention for maximum outcome. It is a delightful and sustainable

outdoor space achieved with an economy of means, and it provides a perceived distancing from its

neighbours that is rare in such a high-density inner-city location.

THE AWARDS

Sustainability (Joint Winner) – Fish Creek House by Edition Office (Foster, VIC)

Jury Citation

When working in remote locations, designing sustainably is almost unavoidable. Adding to this, the clients

of the Fish Creek House are committed to a lifestyle that has low environmental impact, and this was the

starting point of their brief to Edition Office.

The new home responds to the harsh climatic conditions of Victoria’s Gippsland region. Orientated along

a north–south axis, the long recycled-brick western wall “hugs” three pavilions and shields them from the

main road, western sun and strong winds. In parts, this wall is broken down into hit-and-miss breezeway walls

to allow for deep cross-ventilation.

The breaking down of the plan into pavilions allows northern light to penetrate deep into the home via a

series of courtyards. This also allows the concrete slab to be passively heated. To avoid using excess energy,

the guest bedrooms in the southernmost pavilions can be closed off from the rest of the house when not in

use.

The slab is hydronically heated via the kitchen’s wood-fired oven/stove, which also boosts the home’s solar

hot-water system. Rainwater is caught and stored on site, all waste is treated on site with a worm farm

composting system, all materials specified are low-VOC, and a 7 kW solar photovoltaic system is

incorporated into the roof of the shed to supply the house with on-site power.

THE AWARDS

Sustainability (Joint Winner) – Garden Pavilion by BLOXAS (Brunswick, VIC)

Jury Citation

The idea of “sustainability” reaches beyond environmental responsiveness into the realm of social

sustainability. This relates to a project’s ability to acutely meet the needs of its clients, but also to the way that

a design might provide the framework for new models of housing that could benefit a broader group of

potential clients in similar circumstances.

In the case of the Garden Pavilion by BLOXAS, an individual’s sleep condition is addressed without

compromising the clients’ desire for a highly activated, social environment. Collaborating closely with the

client and other consultants, BLOXAS has initiated extensive research and investigation to understand how

the design of a home might improve quality of life for someone who suffers chronically. Requirements

regarding acoustics, isolation and other specific needs are catered for within a delightful garden pavilion

that belies its complexity.

Although this house is designed to suit a specific client, it belongs within a broader conversation and

investigation relating to the way architects can improve living conditions for people with disabilities, chronic

illness or other challenges that affect day-to-day life. Considered as a “live project,” Garden Pavilion will be

monitored by the client and architect on an ongoing basis.

THE AWARDS

Emerging Architecture Practice – ME (QLD)

Jury Citation

Established in 2013 by architect Matthew Eagle, ME is a practice that is pushing boundaries and

reconsidering the suburban status quo on the Gold Coast.

ME’s growing suite of sensitively contextual residential projects embraces the coastal way of life and

climate. The practice delightfully engages with the beachside vernacular and celebrates ordinary

materials and products to create contemporary homes that are playful, liveable and affordable.

ME’s residential work not only aims to enhance the daily lives of each home’s occupants, it also strives to

give back to the relevant neighbourhood character.

For Matthew, research is an important aspect to design and alongside running his practice, he is an

assistant professor at the Abedian School of Architecture at Bond University on the Gold Coast.

Is it clear that, along with his clients and consultants, Matthew Eagle is making his mark on the Gold Coast

with considered, cost-effective and climatically responsive residential architecture.

-CONTINUES-

Houses is Australia’s leading residential architecture magazine for designers and their clients. Houses presents inspiring

residential projects by Australia’s best architects and designers. These projects reveal the way that a house, through

occupation, becomes a home – the architectural ideas, and the people and products behind them. Houses includes

extensive pictorial coverage and engaging stories together with floor plans and detailed lists of the products used. It is

the only residential architecture publication to carry endorsements from both the Australian Institute of Architects and the

Design Institute of Australia.

-ENDS-

For full project information, interviews and images, please contact HotHouse Media & Events (03) 9682 0222

Adam Valentine e: adam@hhme.com.au m: 0411 302 769

John Flower e: john@hhme.com.au m: 0414 778 277