Moffat Beach House | KIRK
Moffat Beach House sits on a constrained site in the sub-tropical coastal climate of the Sunshine Coast. It is the first CLT (cross laminated timber) house to be constructed in Queensland using prefabricated Mass Engineered Timber construction and erected in just seven days. All the timber used for the construction has been sourced sustainably, grown from regenerated forests, and fabricated locally within Australia. The CLT and GLT (glulam timber) used in the project regenerated from the Australian softwood plantations in only eight minutes. The beach house that previously sat proud in its place is referenced throughout the project’s form, scale, and material palette, providing an outcome that is respectful of the local neighbourhood character. Each design element was carefully considered with the clients to achieve a residence that is a sustainable upgrade, while honouring the beachside neighbourhood aesthetic.
Skellig House | Crump Architects
In Skellig House, Crump Architects have created a dramatic shadow in the landscape that creates a harmonious blend of both treehouse and boathouse. The lightweight structure with a dark skin of Shou Sugi Ban hides in the bush on a rocky cliff looking north across the Derwent.
The name is inspired by Skellig Michael, a rocky outcrop off the Irish coast. The owners family is from the west coast of Ireland and felt a strong resemblance between this area and the wild Atlantic coast. The design creates a warm and comforting refuge in this wild southern environment, with a spectacular panoramic view.
The key challenge was to optimise an awkward and constrained suburban block. The final outcome maximises the use of the design envelope and effectively edits out the neighbours to create a lowimpact, low profile structure that uses the available space to create privacy and a sense of expanse.
Six Ways House | Kennedy Nolan
North Fitzroy is a nineteenth century neighbourhood highly valued for its heritage fabric, making for an interesting and challenging context for a new house. This site has some idiosyncrasies opposite the muchloved Tramways hotel, on a fiveways roundabout and oriented eastwest, its principal aspect facing south. This house replaces a 1980s dwelling which had some nostalgic appeal but was poorly constructed, dark, inflexible and lacking connection to garden. The limitations of the old house largely defined a brief for its replacement a thermally efficient, light filled dwelling with an emphasis on connection to landscape.
Shed House | Breakspear Architects
Shed House, built for a couple and their three children, is a place that harmoniously blends work and home life with landscape. The couple have a passion for making furniture and have entwined their professional and domestic life by jointly operating a fabrication/design business. Shed House provides a balance for their lifestyle by conceptualising a house over two distinct levels, arranged with deliberate adjacencies and separations. The design emphasises rationality and legibility, while introducing a central courtyard as a counterpoint that brings in the ephemeral qualities of the surrounding landscape, seasons and weather. From the imposed order, juxtaposed with natural phenomena, a liberating atmosphere is created for daily life.
Kidman Lane | Plus Minus Design
Briefs are rarely this demanding on a small site in a heritage controlled inner suburb and with a modest budget, create a functional home with additional bedrooms and off street parking. A garden too, please. And don’t upset the neighbours!
Our elegant, efficient and flexible plan delivers generous living spaces connecting to a landscaped garden, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and off street parking. The sawtooth roof (inspired by a nearby warehouse) provides high ceilings without overshadowing plus abundant light/ventilation.
The courtyard garden extends the living/dining areas and transforms into parking. Upstairs, 3 rooms interchangeable as bedrooms, offices or living areas plus a spacious bathroom.
Detailing is direct thoughtful arrangement of standard components rather than high-end craftsmanship while vibrant colour design animates and amplifies spatial character.
Although different, the home fits the suburb. Not only did Council approve a potentially controversial design, it has been enthusiastically welcomed by neighbours you’ve renovated the whole street!
Henley Beach House | studio gram
Henley Beach House embodies coastal living at its finest, seamlessly integrating with its surroundings to create a harmonious retreat. Meticulous design invites natural light to fill the interior, emphasising the connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. The upper level features a serene master bedroom with modern amenities, while the kitchen, dining, and living areas offer spaces for both relaxation and gathering. A courtyard pool enhances the flow between spaces, adaptable to various activities. On the lower ground, two additional bedrooms provide privacy, each with access to private gardens. Quality materials such as timber accents and concrete blocks contribute to the home’s durability and aesthetic appeal. With its blend of modernity and coastal charm, Henley Beach House offers residents a sanctuary to embrace the laid-back lifestyle of Henley Beach.
Hackett Gardens House | Ben Walker Architects
The project comprised the design of a new single storey house in the northern Canberra suburb of Turner. The building forms a U shaped plan with an internalised large central court. This layout provides the desired privacy from the public realm, but allows for open and generous views from living spaces into the central court.
A series of indented solar courts provide light and refuge between the wings subtly demarcating the transition between zones and providing foreground views to landscape. Saw tooth roof elements contain highlight windows that provide northern sun to rooms that may otherwise be landlocked and generous interior volumes.
The 8 star house includes highly insulated triple layered walls. Ceilings and burnished concrete slab are heavily insulated, with both internal and external membranes providing excellent air tightness. Windows integrate high performance triple glazing and a PV system provides a substantial portion of household energy use.
Courtyard House | Clare Cousins Architects
Careful to consider its sensitive heritage context, Courtyard House reinterprets the previous condemned 1885 cornerstores scale, materiality, and modest street presence. The building is directly informed by the sites history, the shiplap cladding and galvanised roof establishing a contemporary expression of the past.
Unusually located at the centre of the street frontage, the southern courtyard enables a more dynamic interface between private outdoor space and the public realm.
Courtyard House is shaped from within, dissecting the traditional gable form for a home that is private yet open, contemporary yet figurative, modest but generous.
Coast House | Skein
Coast House is a family home that echoes the aesthetic of the surrounding southern coastal landscapes. The design celebrates natural materials and showcases the beauty of pure and considered architectural form and detailing.
Front and centre to the design is a focus on temporal lighting qualities and weathering materials. An large-format timber garage screen door and operable, external window screens give the project a strong visual identity. The screens allow for the building to transform from an austere and solid object into an open and light-filled set of spaces that connect the garden to the charming and colourful interiors.
Coast Houses’ 165m2 of internal living space comfortably accommodates a family of four and is the product of careful planning which has delivered a home that not only functions extremely efficiently but allows privacy and separation between private spaces and living areas.
Clifton House | Anthony Gill Architects
Replacing an existing bungalow on a suburban block in North Bondi, this new family house is located on the sandy flat that runs from the beach through to Sydney Harbour at Rose Bay.
The surroundings are relatively dense for suburban Sydney with the site sharing boundaries with a mix of housing types, posing a significant challenge in terms of privacy.
The house is carefully planned around a series of courtyards with dense planting to help filter these neighbouring conditions.
The ground floor living rooms open up onto several distinct garden spaces that bring light and ventilation deep into the plan while the upper level relies on the use of fiberglass screens to ensure privacy to the bedrooms. Behind these screens, gardens provide a softness to this strategy and the overall materiality of the house that references the red brick houses and apartment buildings common to the suburb.
