Gubbi Gubbi People and Jinibara People
Queensland
Sunshine Coast
Sitting on the ridgeline of Blackall Range, Mapleton House is an intuitive response to the suburban-rural fringe condition. Its twin tapered forms frame distant mountain views from the street, while the multi-platform interior resonates with the terrain and the adjacent public stair, enhancing one’s experience of the surrounding landscape.
Mapleton House is both a dwelling and a viewing machine—an inhabited terrain that choreographs perception. Set within the Blackall Range hinterland of Gubbi Gubbi and Jinibara Country, the house aligns with sightlines to Mt Ninderry and Mt Coolum—landforms connected to enduring cultural narratives. Its twin zinc-clad pavilions are pushed low into the slope to preserve these views from the street, extending a quiet civic gesture to the broader community. Internally, a sequence of platforms, thresholds, and courtyards frames the landscape with precision, turning everyday routines into layered spatial experiences.
The house asserts itself through bold, faceted forms, yet with such material and spatial sensitivity that it feels almost geologic – as though drawn from the hillside. Locally sourced materials, Silver Ash, Hoop Pine, Helidon Sandstone, enrich the interiors and reinforce a sense of belonging. Intimate yet expansive, Mapleton House reimagines the domestic realm as a calibrated interplay of form, light, and landscape, quietly attuned to the cultural and environmental significance of its place.
Chih-Yin Chen, Design Architect
James Hung, Project Management
Yun Mo Kim, Graduate of Architecture
Westera Partners, Structural Engineer
Core Building Certification, Building Certifier
Stantec, Civil Consultant
BrushBox Design+Ecology, Landscape Consultant
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
