Gallery House | Villar Architect

Gallery House | Villar Architect | Photographer: JaydidPhoto - Jay Evans

2026 National Architecture Awards Program

Gallery House | Villar Architect

Traditional Land Owners

Gundungurra and Dharug peoples of the Ngurra nation

Year
2026
Chapter

NSW Regional

Region

Regional

Category
Residential Architecture – Houses (New)
Sustainable Architecture
Builder
Blue Eco Homes
Photographer
JaydidPhoto – Jay Evans
Media summary

The client was seeking a sustainable, low-maintenance home that offered comfort, independence, and connection to nature in his retirement years. His vision included calm, light-filled spaces to support working from home, quiet reflection, and the display of art and books, while also ensuring minimal environmental impact and long-term resilience.  He was deeply engaged throughout the design and construction process, trusting the design and construction teams while contributing thoughtful, site-specific ideas that elevated the outcome.

Gallery House is a custom-designed, off-grid Passivhaus located in Blackheath, NSW. Purpose-built for the client seeking long-term comfort, independence, and sustainability, the home integrates performance, beauty, and resilience. It’s a standout example of how energy-efficient, bushfire-resilient design can coexist with refined architectural aesthetics and liveability.  It operates entirely off-grid, powered by a solar system and battery storage, with zero reliance on mains water, gas, or electricity. It uses filtered ventilation to maintain exceptional indoor air quality.

[peoples_choice_vote]
2026
NSW Regional Architecture Awards
Shortlist – Sustainable Architecture

This is by far simply the best house I have lived in.  It’s healthy, comfortable, costs nothing to run, future-proofed and it is truly sustainable.  It is a pleasure to live in a house which is so energy-efficient and healthy.  It is fully insulated, has no draughts, uses only efficient appliances.  The air is filtered by an HRV system.  The reverse cycle air conditioning system is hardly ever needed, either in winter or summer. It’s not hard in theory for society to have decent housing, but it’s definitely a long term task to achieve it affordably for all demographics.

Project Consultant and Construction Team

Joe Mercieca, Construction Manager
Geoff Meyer and Associates Pty Ltd, Surveyor
Vertical tree Management and Consultancy, Arborist
Lansberg Garden Design, Landscape Consultant
Grand Engineering, Structural Engineer
Mark Davis Building Designer, ESD Consultant
Evan Dunstone, Artist
Jay Evans – JaydidPhoto, Photographer

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