A working farm crowned Australia’s best in House of the Year Awards

A farmhouse and former electrical substation were among the projects honoured at the Australian House of the Year Awards in Melbourne.

The prestigious awards night presented by Houses magazine celebrates the creme of Australia’s contemporary residential projects over nine categories, as judged by an esteemed panel including Kennedy Nolan’s Rachel Nolan and architect Luigi Rosselli.

Queensland firm Partners Hill picked up double honours, taking out the top prize, Australian House of The Year, as well as New House Over 200 Square Metres for Daylesford Longhouse, a 100-metre-long multi-purpose shed that incorporates a working farm, cosy home, and beautiful landscaping in-between.

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“It is a simple, yet compelling idea executed in its purest form and the design intent is palpable at every turn,” said Katelin Butler, jury member and editorial director at Architecture Media.

“This home is the Australian House of the Year for the commitment by the architect and client to the design intent, their innovative approach to a relatively complex brief and its joyful collection of architectural expressions.”

The award for New House Under 200 Square Metres went to Peter Stutchbury Architecture for Bay Guarella House, a shared retreat between friends located in a eucalyptus forest with views to the water. Its compact footprint is divided into three spaces – entry court, a balcony at the highest point and a lower court, as well as skylights that provide airflow and a sky deck that overlooks the ocean.

“The project is an exemplary response to the landscape and brief, executed with utility, clarity and rigour,” said Butler. “This house is a distilled work of architecture that provides an extraordinary place to experience the surrounding landscape.”

Two Brisbane projects shared the award for House Alteration and Addition Over 200 Square Metres. Brisbane firm Vokes and Peters were commended for their considered and respectful rehabilitation and conservation of Teneriffe House, a culturally significant 1909 home.

“Delightfully sculptural and elegantly crafted, the striking Teneriffe House displays, explicitly and exquisitely, three essential strategies for good design: ‘response to context’; ‘experimentation and innovation’; and ‘house becomes home’,” said Butler.

Sharing this award was Brisbane Riverbank House by designers Owen Architecture, who were lauded for their seamless addition of a living pavilion encompassing two large courtyards to the original 1930s home.

Built in earth-based materials which reflect the riverbanks and overland flow gullies, the judges praised the alteration for its “masterful balance between traditional elements of the existing 1930s home and a contemporary living landscape that greatly expands life’s possibilities on this suburban site”.

The House in Darlinghurst by Tribe Studio took out House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Square Metres. Their deft transformation of a former electrical substation into a stunningly lit, three-storey residence and celebration of light was executed through the innovative application of detailed brise-soleil, metal screens, light shafts and Venetian glass bricks.

The House in Darlinghust also took out The House in a Heritage Context Award along with a second winner, Benn + Penna, for their alterations and additions to Balmain Rock, an 1860s sandstone cottage in the historical precinct of Sydney’s Balmain East.

Harnessing soft natural light and achieving a seamless juxtaposition of new and old materials including old sandstone, robust slate and concrete, it pays homage to the cottage’s origins while providing a stylish update for contemporary living.

“What is most satisfying is the respect that the additions offer to the original cottage,” says Butler. “The new living spaces seem to gaze admiringly toward the old stones and intimate sharing of everyday living occurs around the linking courtyard. There is intergenerational admiration between the cottage and its offspring.”

LIST OF WINNERS

Australian House of The Year and New House Over 200 Square Metres
Daylesford Longhouse by Partners Hill (Daylesford, VIC)

NEW HOUSE UNDER 200 SQUARE METRES
Bay Guarella House by Peter Stutchbury Architecture (South Coast, NSW)

HOUSE ALTERATION AND ADDITION OVER 200 SQUARE METRES (JOINT WINNER)
Teneriffe House by Vokes and Peters (Brisbane, QLD)

Brisbane Riverbank House by Owen Architecture (Brisbane, QLD)

House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Square Metres
The House in Darlinghurst by Tribe Studio (Sydney, NSW)

APARTMENT OR UNIT
The Bae TAS by workbylizandalex (Hobart, TAS)

HOUSE IN A HERITAGE CONTEXT (JOINT WINNER)
The House in Darlinghurst by Tribe Studio (Sydney, NSW)

Balmain Rock by Benn + Penna Architecture (Sydney, NSW)

GARDEN OR LANDSCAPE
Whynot St Pool and Carport by Kieron Gait Architects with Dan Young Landscape Architecture (Brisbane, QLD)

SUSTAINABILITY
The Garden Bunkie by Reddog (Brisbane, QLD)

EMERGING ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE
Edition Office (Melbourne, VIC)