AIA Awards: Alterations & Additions Winners
Planning on extending? See just what's possible with a little imagination by perusing these award-winning additions
The Australian Institute of Architects’ 2019 National Architecture Awards celebrates excellence in home design and provides an unmissable opportunity to see the latest architecture trends realised… while giving you plenty of ideas for your own building or renovation project. If you’re intending to extend your home anytime soon, these 15 winning projects in the ‘Alterations and Additions’ category are sure to set your pulse racing.
Image by Rory Gardiner
NSW Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner: Redfern Warehouse by Ian Moore Architects
Location: Redfern, NSW
Architect’s description: A former Vegemite factory, this two-storey brick warehouse has been converted to a family home, with an internal courtyard and terrace formed by the removal of sections of roof. The upper level serves as the living accommodation, while the lower level is given over to the garage, guest suite, entry hall and an equine genetics laboratory.
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. Colour has been introduced through the cork flooring and large-scale furniture.
The upper level is divided on strict alignment to the existing trusses, with the underside of the trusses used as a horizontal datum. All solid walls stop at this level and clear glazing was installed above to enclose the cellular spaces, allowing visual continuity throughout the space.
NSW Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner: Redfern Warehouse by Ian Moore Architects
Location: Redfern, NSW
Architect’s description: A former Vegemite factory, this two-storey brick warehouse has been converted to a family home, with an internal courtyard and terrace formed by the removal of sections of roof. The upper level serves as the living accommodation, while the lower level is given over to the garage, guest suite, entry hall and an equine genetics laboratory.
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. Colour has been introduced through the cork flooring and large-scale furniture.
The upper level is divided on strict alignment to the existing trusses, with the underside of the trusses used as a horizontal datum. All solid walls stop at this level and clear glazing was installed above to enclose the cellular spaces, allowing visual continuity throughout the space.
Image by Derek Swalwell
Victoria
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the John and Phyllis Murphy Award: Powell Street House by Robert Simoeni Architects
Location: South Yarra, Victoria
Architect’s description: The owners of Powell Street House, an architecture and design writer and his partner, wished to convert their two-storey 1930s duplex into a cohesive single residence.
The existing house had a quiet interior and muted light, and the new works were conceived in response to this, with a deliberate quietness, respect for the existing fabric, and a desire to keep structural alterations to a minimum.
An addition was created to the rear of the site, featuring a new steel-framed window wall that delivers an intriguing quality of light to the interior of the newly created space. Openings were created in the existing fabric for a strong visual connection between this new addition and existing parts of the house.
Find an architect on Houzz to bring your dream home to life
Victoria
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the John and Phyllis Murphy Award: Powell Street House by Robert Simoeni Architects
Location: South Yarra, Victoria
Architect’s description: The owners of Powell Street House, an architecture and design writer and his partner, wished to convert their two-storey 1930s duplex into a cohesive single residence.
The existing house had a quiet interior and muted light, and the new works were conceived in response to this, with a deliberate quietness, respect for the existing fabric, and a desire to keep structural alterations to a minimum.
An addition was created to the rear of the site, featuring a new steel-framed window wall that delivers an intriguing quality of light to the interior of the newly created space. Openings were created in the existing fabric for a strong visual connection between this new addition and existing parts of the house.
Find an architect on Houzz to bring your dream home to life
Image by Derek Swalwell
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Caroline House by Kennedy Nolan
Location: Clifton Hill, Victoria
Architect’s description: This project is an alteration and addition to a weatherboard Edwardian house in Inner
Melbourne. The rear of the house faces south and boasts a generous garden.
We restored and re-imagined the existing house and added a pavilion that is separated from
the original building by an internal courtyard containing a swimming pool. This rather conventional approach is enlivened by displacing expectations of the backyard extension.
This was done through a whimsical formal approach, a balanced relationship between garden and interior space, and a detailed and nuanced approach to texture, colour and
pattern.
6 Furniture Trends: Curves and Customisation at ICFF in New York
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Caroline House by Kennedy Nolan
Location: Clifton Hill, Victoria
Architect’s description: This project is an alteration and addition to a weatherboard Edwardian house in Inner
Melbourne. The rear of the house faces south and boasts a generous garden.
We restored and re-imagined the existing house and added a pavilion that is separated from
the original building by an internal courtyard containing a swimming pool. This rather conventional approach is enlivened by displacing expectations of the backyard extension.
This was done through a whimsical formal approach, a balanced relationship between garden and interior space, and a detailed and nuanced approach to texture, colour and
pattern.
6 Furniture Trends: Curves and Customisation at ICFF in New York
Image by Sean Fennessy
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Garden Wall House by MAKE Architecture
Location: Not specified
Architect’s description: With no room to spare in this 4.5-metre-wide site, the design process for the new addition became a game of millimetres.
The quest for light-filled spaciousness ruled every aspect of design resolution. Ruthless paring back reduced the scheme to this: two white brick garden walls running uninterrupted at constant height from interior space to garden extent, and a singular dark brick form balancing gently above.
While the ground plane attempts to surpass its dimensional confinement, the volume that floats above is working with a more familiar and introspective form in pursuit of heightened privacy. With a gable end made irregular by the adaption of the roof to the site, the veiling screen of hit-and-miss brickwork gives no external clue as to the dappled admission of morning light streaming onto bedroom surfaces within.
Winners of the 2019 Australian Interior Design Awards
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Garden Wall House by MAKE Architecture
Location: Not specified
Architect’s description: With no room to spare in this 4.5-metre-wide site, the design process for the new addition became a game of millimetres.
The quest for light-filled spaciousness ruled every aspect of design resolution. Ruthless paring back reduced the scheme to this: two white brick garden walls running uninterrupted at constant height from interior space to garden extent, and a singular dark brick form balancing gently above.
While the ground plane attempts to surpass its dimensional confinement, the volume that floats above is working with a more familiar and introspective form in pursuit of heightened privacy. With a gable end made irregular by the adaption of the roof to the site, the veiling screen of hit-and-miss brickwork gives no external clue as to the dappled admission of morning light streaming onto bedroom surfaces within.
Winners of the 2019 Australian Interior Design Awards
Image by Peter Clarke
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Fitzroy Terrace by Taylor Knights
Location: Fitzroy, Victoria
Architect’s description: Fitzroy Terrace is an intricate and holistic reworking of a previously run-down double-storey terrace in the gritty, northern fringes of Fitzroy. The design itself represents an ‘obscuring’ between the old and new through the deliberate play of thresholds and vertical journeys through the internal spaces.
Tasked with tackling a deep, narrow site, locked on both sides by double-height party (or shared) walls, and plagued with issues of darkness, damp, and poor ventilation, our approach focused on injecting light deep into the footprint of the home through a series of light-catching sculptural volumes and openings.
In addition, the interior spaces have been reconsidered using the principles of ‘inverted living’, flipping the original arrangement by lifting living spaces onto the first floor, improving natural cross-ventilation, accessing valuable northern light, and capturing city views to the south.
Victorian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Fitzroy Terrace by Taylor Knights
Location: Fitzroy, Victoria
Architect’s description: Fitzroy Terrace is an intricate and holistic reworking of a previously run-down double-storey terrace in the gritty, northern fringes of Fitzroy. The design itself represents an ‘obscuring’ between the old and new through the deliberate play of thresholds and vertical journeys through the internal spaces.
Tasked with tackling a deep, narrow site, locked on both sides by double-height party (or shared) walls, and plagued with issues of darkness, damp, and poor ventilation, our approach focused on injecting light deep into the footprint of the home through a series of light-catching sculptural volumes and openings.
In addition, the interior spaces have been reconsidered using the principles of ‘inverted living’, flipping the original arrangement by lifting living spaces onto the first floor, improving natural cross-ventilation, accessing valuable northern light, and capturing city views to the south.
Image by Toby Scott
Queensland
Queensland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the Elina Mottram Award: Terrarium House by John Ellway. Architect
Location: Highgate Hill, Queensland
Architect’s description: A home created by bringing together layers of memories from the owners’ childhoods and travels. It began as an exercise in pragmatics, managing site conditions and a 100-year-old cottage crumbling into a backyard jungle.
Entering into a private world through a vine-covered screen, the front verandah now contains protected external stairs. A lush, plant-filled void draws you downstairs.
The lower level is detailed to retain the feeling of the former undercroft. Dark ceilings create compression. Doors disappear making the edges ambiguous. This is a space sitting in shadow, allowing retreat from the intense Queensland light.
Private rooms sit above. Bedrooms open wide onto a hallway space, making a room for play. Sliding panels close for privacy, separation and retreat. The bathroom and main bedroom sit adjacent to a large void. Connecting the levels enables chatter, activity and increases the perceived size of a small home.
See the rest of this home and read about its inspired renovation
Queensland
Queensland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the Elina Mottram Award: Terrarium House by John Ellway. Architect
Location: Highgate Hill, Queensland
Architect’s description: A home created by bringing together layers of memories from the owners’ childhoods and travels. It began as an exercise in pragmatics, managing site conditions and a 100-year-old cottage crumbling into a backyard jungle.
Entering into a private world through a vine-covered screen, the front verandah now contains protected external stairs. A lush, plant-filled void draws you downstairs.
The lower level is detailed to retain the feeling of the former undercroft. Dark ceilings create compression. Doors disappear making the edges ambiguous. This is a space sitting in shadow, allowing retreat from the intense Queensland light.
Private rooms sit above. Bedrooms open wide onto a hallway space, making a room for play. Sliding panels close for privacy, separation and retreat. The bathroom and main bedroom sit adjacent to a large void. Connecting the levels enables chatter, activity and increases the perceived size of a small home.
See the rest of this home and read about its inspired renovation
Image by Alicia Taylor
Queensland
Queensland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Albert Villa by Bureau Proberts
Location: Petrie Terrace, Queensland
Architect’s description: Responding to its inner-city location and unique heritage context, Albert Villa aims to create a contemporary residence that connects strongly with its urban surroundings. Key to the design was to maximise the limited site area while seeking access to light and views, and maintaining privacy and security.
The design focuses on a series of living spaces arranged around a landscaped courtyard located in a new pavilion at the rear of the site. The new pavilion houses the living, dining, kitchen and master bedroom, while the existing residence provides three bedrooms and a small sitting area in the typical four-room cottage arrangement.
The form of the building has evolved as a series of shapes that replicate the roofs of the local area while articulating key lines of the existing heritage cottage. The external walls, openings and courtyard surrounds are arranged to modulate privacy and security for the occupants.
Spreading Out: Where to Extend or Gain Space in Your House
Queensland
Queensland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Albert Villa by Bureau Proberts
Location: Petrie Terrace, Queensland
Architect’s description: Responding to its inner-city location and unique heritage context, Albert Villa aims to create a contemporary residence that connects strongly with its urban surroundings. Key to the design was to maximise the limited site area while seeking access to light and views, and maintaining privacy and security.
The design focuses on a series of living spaces arranged around a landscaped courtyard located in a new pavilion at the rear of the site. The new pavilion houses the living, dining, kitchen and master bedroom, while the existing residence provides three bedrooms and a small sitting area in the typical four-room cottage arrangement.
The form of the building has evolved as a series of shapes that replicate the roofs of the local area while articulating key lines of the existing heritage cottage. The external walls, openings and courtyard surrounds are arranged to modulate privacy and security for the occupants.
Spreading Out: Where to Extend or Gain Space in Your House
Image by Christopher Frederick Jones
Queensland
Queensland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Teneriffe House by Vokes and Peters
Location: Teneriffe, Queensland
Architect’s description: Teneriffe House is a complex undertaking involving the rehabilitation, conservation and extension to a historical house built in 1909 and designed by prominent Brisbane architect AB Wilson.
The original house had suffered a substantial degree of abuse and disfiguration during its immediate prior occupation. Consequently, its original relationship to its setting, beauty and elegance were almost illegible.
Not protected by heritage-place listing and at threat of demolition under any other investor, the new owners (our clients) recognised its inherent cultural value and their custodianship for a significant piece of city fabric.
Each city presents a project type or architectural problem that belongs uniquely to that city. In this instance we approached the classic ‘raise and build-under (plus extension)’ with three specific strategies; composition: ‘a house on stumps’; re-occupying the plan: engaging with the historical narrative of occupation, and; stair room: a generous room connecting all levels.
Queensland
Queensland Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Joint Winner: Teneriffe House by Vokes and Peters
Location: Teneriffe, Queensland
Architect’s description: Teneriffe House is a complex undertaking involving the rehabilitation, conservation and extension to a historical house built in 1909 and designed by prominent Brisbane architect AB Wilson.
The original house had suffered a substantial degree of abuse and disfiguration during its immediate prior occupation. Consequently, its original relationship to its setting, beauty and elegance were almost illegible.
Not protected by heritage-place listing and at threat of demolition under any other investor, the new owners (our clients) recognised its inherent cultural value and their custodianship for a significant piece of city fabric.
Each city presents a project type or architectural problem that belongs uniquely to that city. In this instance we approached the classic ‘raise and build-under (plus extension)’ with three specific strategies; composition: ‘a house on stumps’; re-occupying the plan: engaging with the historical narrative of occupation, and; stair room: a generous room connecting all levels.
Image by Christopher Morrison
SA
SA Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the John Schenk Award: Malvern Residence by Williams Burton Leopardi
Location: Malvern, SA
Architect’s description: Often an ‘addition’ will be just that. A separate box that is a clear demarcation of old and new, functionally and physically, or an oversize extrusion of the old that actually devalues the original forms by seeking to replicate.
This is different. By pushing its way functionally into the older house, internally there is not a clear demarcation but a blurring of the edges, and the flow of space grows from the existing volumes and opens up opportunities of orientation.
Materiality is both warm and complementary with raw concrete being used as a living, textured complement for the beautiful stone and timber used elsewhere. Salvaged recycled timbers in the ceiling detail and external entertaining area reference the previous additions and layer the volumes.
SA
SA Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the John Schenk Award: Malvern Residence by Williams Burton Leopardi
Location: Malvern, SA
Architect’s description: Often an ‘addition’ will be just that. A separate box that is a clear demarcation of old and new, functionally and physically, or an oversize extrusion of the old that actually devalues the original forms by seeking to replicate.
This is different. By pushing its way functionally into the older house, internally there is not a clear demarcation but a blurring of the edges, and the flow of space grows from the existing volumes and opens up opportunities of orientation.
Materiality is both warm and complementary with raw concrete being used as a living, textured complement for the beautiful stone and timber used elsewhere. Salvaged recycled timbers in the ceiling detail and external entertaining area reference the previous additions and layer the volumes.
Image by Bo Wong
WA
WA Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the Peter Overman Award: Forrest Street Alterations and Additions by Philip Stejskal Architecture
Location: Fremantle, WA
Architect’s description: A project conceived in response to the client’s desire for open, light-filled spaces that connect strongly to the back garden. There was a desire for well-integrated, fluid spaces that would not detract from other important aspects such as acoustic separation and the need for individual as well as collective space.
The design was furthermore driven by the desire to capture northern light and prevailing breezes. The kitchen, living and dining areas are contained in one open-plan living space that is orientated towards the back garden. High-level openings on the northern side of the extension capture views of the sky and northern light. These functional requirements are achieved through the use of a twisted roof form that responds to physical features of the site and prevailing weather.
It is always delightful when a sculptural element emerges as the most rational way to solve a functional dilemma.
WA
WA Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the Peter Overman Award: Forrest Street Alterations and Additions by Philip Stejskal Architecture
Location: Fremantle, WA
Architect’s description: A project conceived in response to the client’s desire for open, light-filled spaces that connect strongly to the back garden. There was a desire for well-integrated, fluid spaces that would not detract from other important aspects such as acoustic separation and the need for individual as well as collective space.
The design was furthermore driven by the desire to capture northern light and prevailing breezes. The kitchen, living and dining areas are contained in one open-plan living space that is orientated towards the back garden. High-level openings on the northern side of the extension capture views of the sky and northern light. These functional requirements are achieved through the use of a twisted roof form that responds to physical features of the site and prevailing weather.
It is always delightful when a sculptural element emerges as the most rational way to solve a functional dilemma.
Image by Derek Swalwell
ACT
ACT Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the The Gene Willsford Award: Empire House by Austin Maynard Architects
Location: Forrest, ACT
Architect’s description: Canberra is home to some of the best examples of post-war and modernist architecture in Australia. Empire House is located in a culturally significant area of the city, on a ring-road that forms part of Burley Griffin’s masterplan. As architects, we felt a sense of responsibility to stop demolishing. Here was important built heritage we felt the need to protect and contribute to.
The owners of Empire House had a modest, inter-war style bungalow and wanted it to become their permanent base. They asked for “a long-term family home that catches the sun”. The aim was to retain as much of the existing character as possible. The result was two added pavilions, sympathetic to the existing house, but distinctly contemporary in detail.
Empire House is a relatively small, hand-crafted home, unapologetic in its architectural detail and craftsmanship, as this is what the area deserves.
ACT
ACT Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the The Gene Willsford Award: Empire House by Austin Maynard Architects
Location: Forrest, ACT
Architect’s description: Canberra is home to some of the best examples of post-war and modernist architecture in Australia. Empire House is located in a culturally significant area of the city, on a ring-road that forms part of Burley Griffin’s masterplan. As architects, we felt a sense of responsibility to stop demolishing. Here was important built heritage we felt the need to protect and contribute to.
The owners of Empire House had a modest, inter-war style bungalow and wanted it to become their permanent base. They asked for “a long-term family home that catches the sun”. The aim was to retain as much of the existing character as possible. The result was two added pavilions, sympathetic to the existing house, but distinctly contemporary in detail.
Empire House is a relatively small, hand-crafted home, unapologetic in its architectural detail and craftsmanship, as this is what the area deserves.
Image by Craig Burns
ACT Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner: Yarralumla Shed by Gerard O’Connell
Location: Yarralumla, ACT
Architect’s description: The Yarra Shed project began with the client’s desire to create more storage space for a growing family. Many years and conversations later, the project brief had evolved to include a small studio bedroom, bathroom, carport, pergola, deck, rock climbing wall and chicken coop. The disparate elements are united through a common interest in the architectural possibilities of ‘economy’, both formal and financial.
The series of constructions are placed delicately around the site and pursue a quiet, formal inventiveness born of pragmatic concerns.
The formal attributes of each material are explored through simple and sometimes unconventional detailing that articulates each construction as a composition of lines, planes and volumes. In this sense, the constructions seek to look beyond assumed and conventional structure, and attempt to achieve a more sculptural presence. Material consistency across each construction serves to unite the scheme.
ACT Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner: Yarralumla Shed by Gerard O’Connell
Location: Yarralumla, ACT
Architect’s description: The Yarra Shed project began with the client’s desire to create more storage space for a growing family. Many years and conversations later, the project brief had evolved to include a small studio bedroom, bathroom, carport, pergola, deck, rock climbing wall and chicken coop. The disparate elements are united through a common interest in the architectural possibilities of ‘economy’, both formal and financial.
The series of constructions are placed delicately around the site and pursue a quiet, formal inventiveness born of pragmatic concerns.
The formal attributes of each material are explored through simple and sometimes unconventional detailing that articulates each construction as a composition of lines, planes and volumes. In this sense, the constructions seek to look beyond assumed and conventional structure, and attempt to achieve a more sculptural presence. Material consistency across each construction serves to unite the scheme.
Image by Sean Fennessy
Tasmania
Tasmanian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the Edith Emery Award: #TheBaeTAS by workbylizandalex
Location: Sandy Bay, Tasmania
Architect’s description: #TheBaeTAS tests the limits of small-space living and reinvigorates an unloved ’70s bedsit apartment. The core design approach focused on generosity, investigating if, and how, a 26-square-metre apartment could feel generous and even spacious. This posed the question of how all of the functions of a home could be included without impacting on the valuable floor area.
The result is adaptable, flexible and engaging and, despite its tiny footprint, can accommodate a couple or host a party of 10.
The project contributes to a broader public conversation on small-space living and demonstrates that delight can be achieved through careful and crafted alterations to ‘one-size-fits-all’ apartments.
Could You Live Like a Minimalist?
Tasmania
Tasmanian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the Edith Emery Award: #TheBaeTAS by workbylizandalex
Location: Sandy Bay, Tasmania
Architect’s description: #TheBaeTAS tests the limits of small-space living and reinvigorates an unloved ’70s bedsit apartment. The core design approach focused on generosity, investigating if, and how, a 26-square-metre apartment could feel generous and even spacious. This posed the question of how all of the functions of a home could be included without impacting on the valuable floor area.
The result is adaptable, flexible and engaging and, despite its tiny footprint, can accommodate a couple or host a party of 10.
The project contributes to a broader public conversation on small-space living and demonstrates that delight can be achieved through careful and crafted alterations to ‘one-size-fits-all’ apartments.
Could You Live Like a Minimalist?
Image by Adam Gibson
Tasmanian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner: Mount Stuart Greenhouse by Bence Mulcahy
Location: Mount Stuart, Tasmania
Architect’s description: Culverden is a highly crafted Federation Italianate home with an expansive garden. The client stated a desire to live “engulfed by the garden” and thus, the new addition was conceived as a greenhouse.
Growing from the existing, traces of the new present themselves by degrees, culminating in the kitchen/dining area where the full extent reveals itself. It shares formal characteristics with the existing, a sandstone base, yet is transparent and overtly structural to capture the gardens’ proximity, formally setting up a relationship with the existing verandah.
Generous volumes capture the scale of the immediate vegetation and views, and crafted details and materials provide continuity of pattern and texture. Natural materials develop patina and contribute to a lived-in space.
Culverden is subject to a heritage precinct overlay. Removal of existing building fabric was minimised and the overall massing sits comfortably against the existing.
Your turn
Which of these designs captures your imagination? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Did you see last week’s story with state and territory award winners? Check it out here State Winners of the Australian Institute of Architecture Awards
Tasmanian Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner: Mount Stuart Greenhouse by Bence Mulcahy
Location: Mount Stuart, Tasmania
Architect’s description: Culverden is a highly crafted Federation Italianate home with an expansive garden. The client stated a desire to live “engulfed by the garden” and thus, the new addition was conceived as a greenhouse.
Growing from the existing, traces of the new present themselves by degrees, culminating in the kitchen/dining area where the full extent reveals itself. It shares formal characteristics with the existing, a sandstone base, yet is transparent and overtly structural to capture the gardens’ proximity, formally setting up a relationship with the existing verandah.
Generous volumes capture the scale of the immediate vegetation and views, and crafted details and materials provide continuity of pattern and texture. Natural materials develop patina and contribute to a lived-in space.
Culverden is subject to a heritage precinct overlay. Removal of existing building fabric was minimised and the overall massing sits comfortably against the existing.
Your turn
Which of these designs captures your imagination? Tell us in the Comments below, like this story, save the images and join the conversation.
More
Did you see last week’s story with state and territory award winners? Check it out here State Winners of the Australian Institute of Architecture Awards
NSW
NSW Architecture Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Winner of the Hugh and Eva Buhrich Award: Five Gardens House by David Boyle Architect
Location: Northbridge, NSW
Architect’s description: Perched on a headland in Middle Harbour, Five Gardens House establishes the landscape as a form and spatial generator. Arched ceilings float above a projecting concrete entry roof, as if the volume of the rock outcrops in the adjacent bushland have permeated into the building’s form. Horizontal projections over three levels reach out into the landscape and wrap around a spectacular eucalypt in the rear yard.
New work is joyously stitched into the existing building fabric to enhance the modernist aesthetic and create omnipresent connections on all levels to the gardens.
Internal and external stairs create a spiral circulation system connecting all levels and gardens. Subtle shifts in geometry yield to the prevailing aspect over Sailors Bay. Raw, robust materials and expressionistic structure invite an emotive response and embed the building into the landscape.