World Architecture Festival: Antipodean Houses Lead the Charge
Australian and NZ architects punch well above their weight in a global competition – see four of the finalists here
Australians and New Zealanders are renowned for their cutting-edge design sensibility, and it seems the world is sitting up and taking notice. The 2019 World Architecture Festival – which showcases the finest work of architects around the globe in an event in Amsterdam from 4 to 6 December 2019 – recently released its list of finalists. Of the 14 shortlisted projects in the ‘Completed Buildings – Houses’ category, an impressive seven are from Australia and one is from New Zealand.
See four of these stunning houses here and read what the architects had to say about them. We’ll run the remaining three houses later in the week, so keep an eye out.
See four of these stunning houses here and read what the architects had to say about them. We’ll run the remaining three houses later in the week, so keep an eye out.
A central spiral staircase optimises the limited footprint of the site and stretches across all three floors. It also acts as a light well and draws cool air from the concrete slab and masonry wall spaces of the ground floor up through the bedroom and living spaces above, and pushes hot air out the operable glass skin on the top floor in the warmer months.
The centrally located stair allows the first-floor circulation to be kept to a bare minimum with three bedrooms, a bathroom, toilet and laundry all accessible from only a few metres of hallway.
Three young children share a barrack of bunk beds spread across two bedrooms, separated by oversize bi-fold doors that fold away during playtime or sleepovers.
Low seating doubles as storage and allows the children to sit and play alongside the bubbling aquaponics fish pond, watching the fish that provide nutrients to the fruit and vegetables the home provides, which they consume. The architecture has made a deliberate attempt to connect the children directly with their food sources to counter the detachment that current city-dwelling generations have developed.
The centrally located stair allows the first-floor circulation to be kept to a bare minimum with three bedrooms, a bathroom, toilet and laundry all accessible from only a few metres of hallway.
Three young children share a barrack of bunk beds spread across two bedrooms, separated by oversize bi-fold doors that fold away during playtime or sleepovers.
Low seating doubles as storage and allows the children to sit and play alongside the bubbling aquaponics fish pond, watching the fish that provide nutrients to the fruit and vegetables the home provides, which they consume. The architecture has made a deliberate attempt to connect the children directly with their food sources to counter the detachment that current city-dwelling generations have developed.
The fully operable glass inner skin of the home is inset from the outer punctuated masonry facade, providing an abundance of light and outlook while maintaining privacy.
Planter beds ‘float’ in between the glass and masonry skins to provide outlook to greenery and cooling to internal spaces via transpiration. The floating planter beds are also an integrated, structurally engineered solution to the lateral bracing needs of the masonry wall.
The rooftop is constructed of steel planter beds that provide deep soil for native plants, fruit and vegetables. The garden beds are irrigated by the fish pond, providing nutrient-rich water created by the edible silver perch.
The upper-floor living space features timber flooring and a recycled timber island/dining bench. The kitchen features an array of machined and polished metals that contrast with the concrete and timber finishes of the floors below.
A fold-down ladder at the outdoor living area provides access to the roof garden for growing fruit and vegetables, composting food scraps, and producing worms for the garden and to feed the fish.
Find an architect on Houzz to bring your dream home to life
Planter beds ‘float’ in between the glass and masonry skins to provide outlook to greenery and cooling to internal spaces via transpiration. The floating planter beds are also an integrated, structurally engineered solution to the lateral bracing needs of the masonry wall.
The rooftop is constructed of steel planter beds that provide deep soil for native plants, fruit and vegetables. The garden beds are irrigated by the fish pond, providing nutrient-rich water created by the edible silver perch.
The upper-floor living space features timber flooring and a recycled timber island/dining bench. The kitchen features an array of machined and polished metals that contrast with the concrete and timber finishes of the floors below.
A fold-down ladder at the outdoor living area provides access to the roof garden for growing fruit and vegetables, composting food scraps, and producing worms for the garden and to feed the fish.
Find an architect on Houzz to bring your dream home to life
A colonnade of thin steel blade columns supports the roof above. They are staggered perpendicular from the building’s edge to provide shade.
The hot-dip galvanised planter beds, which form the roof structure, are above. These structural roof ‘troughs’ double as the roof beams and span up to 8.5 metres, while holding deep soil for the planter beds. They are exposed at the base to create the raw ceiling finish below.
A passage through an oversize hot-dip galvanised steel shroud delivers occupants to a cavernous ground floor, which serves as a home office, play space and guest accommodation.
Laneway access opens to a workshop and garage. Passionfruit vines installed over fibre-reinforced plastic grating will bear fruit for the local community to enjoy – a symbolic gesture of an architecture attempting to give more than just an aesthetic.
The hot-dip galvanised planter beds, which form the roof structure, are above. These structural roof ‘troughs’ double as the roof beams and span up to 8.5 metres, while holding deep soil for the planter beds. They are exposed at the base to create the raw ceiling finish below.
A passage through an oversize hot-dip galvanised steel shroud delivers occupants to a cavernous ground floor, which serves as a home office, play space and guest accommodation.
Laneway access opens to a workshop and garage. Passionfruit vines installed over fibre-reinforced plastic grating will bear fruit for the local community to enjoy – a symbolic gesture of an architecture attempting to give more than just an aesthetic.
The roof is shared with a perimeter of native Australian plants and desert grasses that filter stormwater for the aquaponics pond. The native plant perimeter acts as the green top hat of the dwelling, providing a conceptually integrated roof with multiple functions and expressing the aesthetic benefits of rooftop landscaping and gardens in the city to the public.
The home includes an aquaponics system, a green roof fed from nutrient-rich water pumped from the fishpond, a solar-panel facade system with battery storage, and rainwater harvesting systems.
The home includes an aquaponics system, a green roof fed from nutrient-rich water pumped from the fishpond, a solar-panel facade system with battery storage, and rainwater harvesting systems.
The project increases renewable energy production and urban greenery, as well as encouraging more effective environmental solutions. The dwelling acts as a beacon of sustainability within its community where landscape, food, nature, garden, environment, energy, waste, water and architectural aesthetic exist symbiotically.
The house draws daily crowds from commuters, engineering and architecture students.
With a family of five devoted to positive and sustainable architecture, the Welcome to the Jungle House presents a future model for inner-city living.
It’s Time to Reconnect: 10 Ways Your Home Can Create a Community
The house draws daily crowds from commuters, engineering and architecture students.
With a family of five devoted to positive and sustainable architecture, the Welcome to the Jungle House presents a future model for inner-city living.
It’s Time to Reconnect: 10 Ways Your Home Can Create a Community
Images by Scott Burrows
2. Project: Minka Twins by Bureau Proberts
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Situated on an 800-square-metre hillcrest site in Brisbane’s leafy west, the Minka Twins are designed as a new subtropical response that challenges the conventions of traditional infill housing.
The architecture looks to both traditional Japanese dwellings (known as minka) and an interpretation of the modern Queenslander as catalysts for the form, material and planning approach.
Simple gable roof forms, batten-screened verandahs and habitable undercroft spaces identify with the local housing stock, while providing a considered climatic response.
2. Project: Minka Twins by Bureau Proberts
Location: Brisbane, Queensland
Situated on an 800-square-metre hillcrest site in Brisbane’s leafy west, the Minka Twins are designed as a new subtropical response that challenges the conventions of traditional infill housing.
The architecture looks to both traditional Japanese dwellings (known as minka) and an interpretation of the modern Queenslander as catalysts for the form, material and planning approach.
Simple gable roof forms, batten-screened verandahs and habitable undercroft spaces identify with the local housing stock, while providing a considered climatic response.
The houses engage with the landscape via a series of floor-to-ceiling glass doors that stack away to completely open up the lower-level living spaces to the outdoors. Internal gardens blur thresholds from interior to exterior.
The planning responds to function and climate. Flexible open living spaces are positioned on the lower level to enhance the connection to the yard and landscape.
The planning responds to function and climate. Flexible open living spaces are positioned on the lower level to enhance the connection to the yard and landscape.
Natural materials were chosen for their raw integrity, durability and craftsmanship. A limited palette of burnished concrete, stained-pine timber battens, plywood, and timber-framed glass were adopted.
Cost-effectiveness was achieved through using common building materials and methodologies for the core of the house so detailed edges could be achieved within a modest budget. A conscious effort to maintain one continuous form was key to this approach.
Cost-effectiveness was achieved through using common building materials and methodologies for the core of the house so detailed edges could be achieved within a modest budget. A conscious effort to maintain one continuous form was key to this approach.
Bedrooms are elevated on the upper level along the east and north edges to maximise access to natural light and breezes.
Separation between parents’ and kids’ quarters is achieved through a light-filled stair void, while a secondary living space is located on the front facade to encourage engagement with the streetscape.
Separation between parents’ and kids’ quarters is achieved through a light-filled stair void, while a secondary living space is located on the front facade to encourage engagement with the streetscape.
Both dwellings have been designed at single-room widths in order to encourage and allow passive cooling. The entire upper level is screened for privacy and solar protection, with each bedroom featuring full-height openings to verandahs that capture prevailing winds.
Best of the Week: 21 Examples of Fabulous Kitchen Joinery
Best of the Week: 21 Examples of Fabulous Kitchen Joinery
Images by Rory Gardiner
3. Project: Redfern Warehouse by Ian Moore Architects
Location: Redfern, NSW
This adaptive reuse of a former warehouse has left the exterior almost untouched, with only a few new windows inserted into existing openings. This soft touch has been extended to the interior, where original brick walls have been exposed and the large, timber roof trusses have been used as the starting point for the building’s conversion to a family home.
3. Project: Redfern Warehouse by Ian Moore Architects
Location: Redfern, NSW
This adaptive reuse of a former warehouse has left the exterior almost untouched, with only a few new windows inserted into existing openings. This soft touch has been extended to the interior, where original brick walls have been exposed and the large, timber roof trusses have been used as the starting point for the building’s conversion to a family home.
The brief called for a four-bedroom home with self-contained guest accommodation, a home office to be used as an equine genetics laboratory, and a large garage for a collection of classic sports cars.
There was a strong emphasis on maintaining an industrial feel to the conversion and the owners asked that there be no timber, marble or black finishes used in the renovation.
There was a strong emphasis on maintaining an industrial feel to the conversion and the owners asked that there be no timber, marble or black finishes used in the renovation.
The upper level is divided on strict alignment with the existing trusses. The bottom chord of the trusses is used as a horizontal datum – with all solid walls stopping at this level and clear glazing installed above it to enclose the cellular spaces – while allowing visual continuity of the trusses and ceiling throughout the space.
A very large, hot/cold and noisy space has been transformed into a comfortable family home by locating all household spaces on the upper level – effectively making it a single-storey house – with ancillary spaces on the lower level.
A very large, hot/cold and noisy space has been transformed into a comfortable family home by locating all household spaces on the upper level – effectively making it a single-storey house – with ancillary spaces on the lower level.
Large outdoor recreation spaces flow off the main living area, providing natural light.
From Shabby to Chic: An Unbelievable Makeover of a ’90s Extension
From Shabby to Chic: An Unbelievable Makeover of a ’90s Extension
A series of refined and elegant new elements contrast with and complement the original building, with no sentimental or nostalgic reinvention of a warehouse aesthetic.
Images by Robert Frith
4. Project: Cloud House by Neil Cownie Architect
Location: Peel Inlet, WA
This new house is located on the outer leg of a marina between the Indian Ocean and the Mandurah estuary marina. The sheltered waters of the estuary are a boating paradise, where holiday makers water ski, fish and cruise.
The 11-metre wide and 22-metre long Cloud House site is exposed on three sides to public, open space and has a public boat ramp adjacent to it. The exposure of this site to the boating activity of the ocean and marina, along with the activity in the adjacent public open spaces, provided the opportunity to design a building that ‘spoke of its place’ as the nautical gateway to the Indian Ocean.
Efficient floor planning provides for all four generations in a building that offers 29 square metres per person.
4. Project: Cloud House by Neil Cownie Architect
Location: Peel Inlet, WA
This new house is located on the outer leg of a marina between the Indian Ocean and the Mandurah estuary marina. The sheltered waters of the estuary are a boating paradise, where holiday makers water ski, fish and cruise.
The 11-metre wide and 22-metre long Cloud House site is exposed on three sides to public, open space and has a public boat ramp adjacent to it. The exposure of this site to the boating activity of the ocean and marina, along with the activity in the adjacent public open spaces, provided the opportunity to design a building that ‘spoke of its place’ as the nautical gateway to the Indian Ocean.
Efficient floor planning provides for all four generations in a building that offers 29 square metres per person.
This project aimed to provide accomodation to four generations of family in a holiday house that could either accommodate the whole family of 17 together or provide my clients with a more intimate experience as a couple.
The house needed to put an emphasis on fun and making memories, and provide a point of difference from the four suburban homes the family lived in during the rest of the year.
While the house was designed for holiday use, the design serves as a model for potential everyday living for multi-generational families under one roof. The multi-generational family is accommodated in an ‘apartment’ typology where vertical zoning allows for independent living. Family members can choose to inhabit the communal areas or retreat to their own zones to live more independently.
Two’s Company: Putting the Community Spirit Back Into Housing
The house needed to put an emphasis on fun and making memories, and provide a point of difference from the four suburban homes the family lived in during the rest of the year.
While the house was designed for holiday use, the design serves as a model for potential everyday living for multi-generational families under one roof. The multi-generational family is accommodated in an ‘apartment’ typology where vertical zoning allows for independent living. Family members can choose to inhabit the communal areas or retreat to their own zones to live more independently.
Two’s Company: Putting the Community Spirit Back Into Housing
The planning of the house provides versatility for use by just two people or the entire family of 17 on holiday. Balconies surround living spaces on multiple sides, making the experience within the living rooms feel as though you are on the balcony. This is coupled with devices such as full-height stacking sliding doors, level thresholds, consistent floor materials and external timber cladding and off-form concrete surfaces that slide to internal spaces.
Highlight windows allow morning to midday sun to spill through the central void space to counter the fact that the living areas all face south and west to take in the best views.
Highlight windows allow morning to midday sun to spill through the central void space to counter the fact that the living areas all face south and west to take in the best views.
The design of Cloud House was intended to form a theatrical stage-set backdrop to the daily theatre and drama of the adjacent public boat ramp. The building was envisaged to provide a cartoon-like commentary about its own ‘place making’ as public theatre.
The finger wharfs of Sydney Harbour inspired the expressed concrete structural framework, while the immediate nautical environment of the marina has been referenced in the use of the maritime navigation colours of green, red and blue.
The finger wharfs of Sydney Harbour inspired the expressed concrete structural framework, while the immediate nautical environment of the marina has been referenced in the use of the maritime navigation colours of green, red and blue.
The playful referencing of place continues inside the house where nautical colours are used as accents to doors and cabinetwork. Ceilings either roll like the underside of a cloud or provide cloud-shaped bulkheads.
A ladder makes use of ceiling space to give the grandchildren access to a cubby.
A ladder makes use of ceiling space to give the grandchildren access to a cubby.
With the building located in a harsh, salt-ridden environment, maintenance and window cleaning has been considered with the use of balconies to every window. External materials of off-form concrete, compressed sheet and dimensionally stable timber cladding were chosen for their robust durability and minimal maintenance needs.
Your turn
Which of these homes appeals to you the most? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Are you up-to-date with other recent design awards? Catch up here with AIA Awards: Alterations & Additions Winners
Your turn
Which of these homes appeals to you the most? Tell us in the Comments, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Are you up-to-date with other recent design awards? Catch up here with AIA Awards: Alterations & Additions Winners
1. Project: Welcome to the Jungle by CplusC Architectural Workshop
Location: Darlington, NSW
Built within a rejuvenated heritage facade of rendered masonry, steel, timber and greenery, the Welcome to the Jungle House is situated in an inner-city heritage conservation area.
The 90-square-metre triangular site was originally occupied by a two-storey shop-top house, which was in disrepair and close to collapsing. The original spackled rendered masonry facade had cultural and streetscape significance to the local heritage conservation area, and its reconstruction was managed under strict heritage controls.
Original window openings were framed in pre-rusted steel and juxtaposed with new openings framed in gloss white powder-coated steel. A black photovoltaic panel array signals the new addition to the original northern facade, harnessing sunlight throughout the day, acting as a billboard for the sustainability attributes of the architecture and starkly contrasting the original rendered heritage facade.