Ngunnawal & Ngambri people
Australian Capital Territory
Batten House is a new family home and studio in Curtin ACT adjacent to the Yarralumla Creek open space network. The project responds to its highly visible location next to a public cycle network, and to beautiful southern parkland views.Â
The response to the proximity of the cycleway and parkland resulted in provision of a centralised courtyard space, or buffer zone, that can be screened from the public realm by a series of operable screens. This allows the residents to select the levels of visual privacy desired at different times of the day and year. The house incorporates a reverse brick veneer construction system and high levels of internal thermal mass to passively regulate temperatures. The use of dry pressed face brick, recycled hardwood cladding for walls, eaves and ceilings, honed concrete slabs and timber joinery provides a delightful textural paletteÂ
The Malcolm Moir and Heather Sutherland Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New)
Batten House by Ben Walker Architects is an exemplary piece of residential architecture that elevates a modest suburban brief into a highly refined and intelligent response to place. Set against the exposed edge of the Yarralumla Creek corridor, the project demonstrates a sophisticated resolution of privacy, outlook and environmental performance.
The house is organised around a central courtyard, where operable batten screens form a precise and adaptable interface between domestic life and the public realm. This device is both pragmatic and poetic, allowing the building to recalibrate between openness and enclosure with clarity and control. Complementing this, a series of solar courts and sectional shifts bring light, volume and generosity deep into the plan, transforming what could have been a constrained footprint into a rich spatial sequence.
Materially restrained yet highly crafted, the project draws on recycled timber, brick and concrete to achieve both tactile warmth and long-term durability. Its strong passive design credentials, evidenced by an 8.1 star NatHERS rating, are seamlessly integrated into the architectural expression rather than applied as an overlay.
Batten House is a disciplined, enduring and deeply considered work that demonstrates how careful thinking and precise execution can produce architecture of lasting quality and quiet distinction.
COLORBOND Award for Steel Architecture
Batten House by Ben Walker Architects is a finely resolved exploration of steel, adaptability and environmental performance within a suburban dwelling. Positioned along the Yarralumla Creek interfacing directly with the public realm, the project negotiates privacy and outlook through a legible structural steel framework, which hosts operable timber batten screens and finely detailed junctions.
The steel defines and mediates space, forming a durable and expressive external volume that enables flexibility between openness and enclosure. Operable screening elements allow the house to shift between transparency to the landscape and privacy from the adjacent cycleway, reinforcing a dynamic relationship between domestic life and public realm.
The material strategy is grounded in longevity and restraint, with steel working in concert with recycled timber and masonry elements to reduce environmental impact while maintaining clarity of expression. Passive design strategies, including solar courts and high-performance envelope systems, are supported by the precision of steel detailing to achieve thermal efficiency and structural economy.
Batten House demonstrates how steel, when thoughtfully detailed and integrated, can enable adaptable living, environmental responsibility and enduring architectural quality.
The Malcolm Moir and Heather Sutherland Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New)
Batten House by Ben Walker Architects is an exemplary piece of residential architecture that elevates a modest suburban brief into a highly refined and intelligent response to place. Set against the exposed edge of the Yarralumla Creek corridor, the project demonstrates a sophisticated resolution of privacy, outlook and environmental performance.
The house is organised around a central courtyard, where operable batten screens form a precise and adaptable interface between domestic life and the public realm. This device is both pragmatic and poetic, allowing the building to recalibrate between openness and enclosure with clarity and control. Complementing this, a series of solar courts and sectional shifts bring light, volume and generosity deep into the plan, transforming what could have been a constrained footprint into a rich spatial sequence.
Materially restrained yet highly crafted, the project draws on recycled timber, brick and concrete to achieve both tactile warmth and long-term durability. Its strong passive design credentials, evidenced by an 8.1 star NatHERS rating, are seamlessly integrated into the architectural expression rather than applied as an overlay.
Batten House is a disciplined, enduring and deeply considered work that demonstrates how careful thinking and precise execution can produce architecture of lasting quality and quiet distinction.
COLORBOND Award for Steel Architecture
Batten House by Ben Walker Architects is a finely resolved exploration of steel, adaptability and environmental performance within a suburban dwelling. Positioned along the Yarralumla Creek interfacing directly with the public realm, the project negotiates privacy and outlook through a legible structural steel framework, which hosts operable timber batten screens and finely detailed junctions.
The steel defines and mediates space, forming a durable and expressive external volume that enables flexibility between openness and enclosure. Operable screening elements allow the house to shift between transparency to the landscape and privacy from the adjacent cycleway, reinforcing a dynamic relationship between domestic life and public realm.
The material strategy is grounded in longevity and restraint, with steel working in concert with recycled timber and masonry elements to reduce environmental impact while maintaining clarity of expression. Passive design strategies, including solar courts and high-performance envelope systems, are supported by the precision of steel detailing to achieve thermal efficiency and structural economy.
Batten House demonstrates how steel, when thoughtfully detailed and integrated, can enable adaptable living, environmental responsibility and enduring architectural quality.
We wanted a modern, efficient house with mid century modern design and loved Ben’s drawings from the start. What we didn’t expect was just how good it would feel to live in the house and how much more it would give us. Each room has unique views of the sky, pool, garden and parklands and despite the exposed block, we feel like we are living in a secluded refuge. The raw natural materials are calming and tactile and the internal climate of the house is consistently perfect. We love to travel, but this house makes us love home.
Ben Walker, Design Architect
Marshman O’Neil Engineers, Structural Engineer
Powerhaus Engineering, EER Consultant
Plot Design Group, Landscape Consultant
Thors Hammer, Recycled Timber Supply
Canberra Genuine Landscapes, Landscape Construction