Yugambeh people
Queensland
Gold Coast and Northern Rivers
Palm Beach House is the careful transformation of a modest 1954 brick bungalow. Rather than demolish, the project retains and adapts the original dwelling, reducing waste while preserving a fragment of the area’s increasingly rare historical fabric. In a region with limited heritage protection and a culture of replacement, the project demonstrates the value of reuse and continuity.
The existing house now accommodates the private areas, elevated to create a sense of retreat. A new rear extension contains the living spaces, positioned to maximise northern light and establish a strong connection to the garden. Pushed to the southern boundary, the addition opens fully to the outdoors and increases usable green space.
Robust, tactile materials support family life, while landscape plays an integral role, providing privacy, shade and productive planting. A small street-facing courtyard encourages neighbourly interaction, reinforcing the house as an open and engaged part of its setting.
The Palm Beach House offers a thoughtful and exemplary model for adaptive reuse, preserving a modest 1954 bungalow while reimagining it for contemporary living. The careful integration of old and new demonstrates design restraint and clarity, with spatial complexity resolved through subtle level changes and strong landscape connections. Robust, tactile materials and precise detailing ensure durability and warmth. The architecture is quietly confident, socially generous and environmentally responsible, delighting through its sensitivity to context, scale and everyday life.
Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations & Additions)
This modest 1954 house has been thoughtfully and carefully restructured to take the most advantage of its inner urban site. The redesign has maximised the management of sight lines, air flows and the relationship with neighbouring properties. The addition of the generous garden room is skilful and provides a well managed design relationship with the remaining fabric of the initial house.
The overall result is to create a satisfying and well structured relationship between old and new. The internal changes are skilful and serve to expand the scale of the interlinked spaces. The sense of achieving a quality interior throughout the house is stabilised and enhanced by the use of well selected timber furniture that benefits from its carefully selected scale and finish.
All in all, the Palm Beach house deserves to be recognised with an award.
Commendation for Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions)
The Palm Beach House offers a thoughtful and exemplary model for adaptive reuse, preserving a modest 1954 bungalow while reimagining it for contemporary living. The careful integration of old and new demonstrates design restraint and clarity, with spatial complexity resolved through subtle level changes and strong landscape connections. Robust, tactile materials and precise detailing ensure durability and warmth. The architecture is quietly confident, socially generous and environmentally responsible, delighting through its sensitivity to context, scale and everyday life.
Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations & Additions)
This modest 1954 house has been thoughtfully and carefully restructured to take the most advantage of its inner urban site. The redesign has maximised the management of sight lines, air flows and the relationship with neighbouring properties. The addition of the generous garden room is skilful and provides a well managed design relationship with the remaining fabric of the initial house.
The overall result is to create a satisfying and well structured relationship between old and new. The internal changes are skilful and serve to expand the scale of the interlinked spaces. The sense of achieving a quality interior throughout the house is stabilised and enhanced by the use of well selected timber furniture that benefits from its carefully selected scale and finish.
All in all, the Palm Beach house deserves to be recognised with an award.
The kitchen is our anchor point. It feels naturally connected to the garden, dining and living areas, which makes chaotic mornings and playful after-school afternoons flow more easily. The kids can be outside or in the living room while we’re in the kitchen or office, and we still feel physically connected.
The house changes throughout the day: morning sun draws us into the living areas, while high summer sun provides shade and keeps things cool.
The landscaping and framing of the extension provide privacy and tranquility a genuine escape from what is a busy Palm Beach.
James Knight, Design Architect
Dan Wilson, Project Architect
Ingineered, Structural Engineer
TOCO Landscape Design, Landscape Consultant
Coast Town Planning, Town Planner
TSC Group, Building Surveyor