National Architecture Awards: 3 Alterations & Additions Winners
See the winners and hear about the creation of these award-winning Australian homes
The 40th anniversary of Australia’s most prestigious, peer-reviewed architecture awards, held by the Australian Institute of Architects, has highlighted the immense value architects add to their communities through truly exceptional design. Here, we report on the three winners complete with thoughts from the jury as well as the homeowners.
Photo by Rob Frith
The extension is best described as a series of cave-like chambers made from recycled brickwork. It feels weighty and its surfaces rustic. Light from above enters in a carefully orchestrated sequence giving the interior a soft glow and a sense of slow discovery.
The final room in the sequence – the main bedroom – is an intense moment of climax [sic]. This room is more compressed than the others and is coloured in shades of light blue, indigo and deep bottle-green using lime-based paints and natural pigments. This house feels like a secret world in the suburbs.
The extension is best described as a series of cave-like chambers made from recycled brickwork. It feels weighty and its surfaces rustic. Light from above enters in a carefully orchestrated sequence giving the interior a soft glow and a sense of slow discovery.
The final room in the sequence – the main bedroom – is an intense moment of climax [sic]. This room is more compressed than the others and is coloured in shades of light blue, indigo and deep bottle-green using lime-based paints and natural pigments. This house feels like a secret world in the suburbs.
Photo by Rob Frith
Client’s perspective
“Living in the house that Simon designed has changed the way we live, enhancing our quality of life on a daily basis. Each space is a pleasure to rest, work or play in. We often reflect that we feel that we are living in a functional sculpture where materials, space and light beautifully coalesce.”
Read more stories for pros
Client’s perspective
“Living in the house that Simon designed has changed the way we live, enhancing our quality of life on a daily basis. Each space is a pleasure to rest, work or play in. We often reflect that we feel that we are living in a functional sculpture where materials, space and light beautifully coalesce.”
Read more stories for pros
Photo by Rob Frith
“Simon was attuned to our needs and engaged us very sensitively in the design process. Simon was also unfailingly professional in his communications with us at all stages of the design and building process.”
“Simon was attuned to our needs and engaged us very sensitively in the design process. Simon was also unfailingly professional in his communications with us at all stages of the design and building process.”
Photo by Rob Frith
Jury citation
Beaconsfield House is the result of wonderful relationship between client and architect. Each space has been carefully considered for its individual purpose yet sits within a greater whole; curated such that the visitor is drawn through the site and seduced by ephemeral moments as each new space is revealed.
The architect has very clearly delineated and differentiated between the old and the new, yet the primordial nature of the additions talk less about newness and more about our most basic instinct to dwell within a warm and protective enclosure.
Colour has been used subtly within spaces to accentuate the moments of compression and release, and to further draw you into a room; to a specific nook or carefully considered position.
Jury citation
Beaconsfield House is the result of wonderful relationship between client and architect. Each space has been carefully considered for its individual purpose yet sits within a greater whole; curated such that the visitor is drawn through the site and seduced by ephemeral moments as each new space is revealed.
The architect has very clearly delineated and differentiated between the old and the new, yet the primordial nature of the additions talk less about newness and more about our most basic instinct to dwell within a warm and protective enclosure.
Colour has been used subtly within spaces to accentuate the moments of compression and release, and to further draw you into a room; to a specific nook or carefully considered position.
Photo by Rob Frith
Whilst the project may have been conceived primarily through experiential qualities, the architect has also considered the most basic sustainable principles within the design. The treatment of the existing cottage through the repurposing of spaces is commendable and the connection to garden through the deep, shaded openings of the additions provides a wonderful respite during the warmer months.
Beaconsfield House offers a cohesive and beautiful series of sculptural spaces that are a joy to experience.
Whilst the project may have been conceived primarily through experiential qualities, the architect has also considered the most basic sustainable principles within the design. The treatment of the existing cottage through the repurposing of spaces is commendable and the connection to garden through the deep, shaded openings of the additions provides a wonderful respite during the warmer months.
Beaconsfield House offers a cohesive and beautiful series of sculptural spaces that are a joy to experience.
Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones
National Award for Residential
Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Beck Street House by Lineburg Wang, Brisbane, Queensland
Summary
A compromised site burdened most significantly by flood and overland flow, the project is a balance of contrasts, defined by conditions below and above council’s Minimum Habitable Floor Level. Function is organised by this horizontal datum by necessity, construction types, conditions of light and introversion are contrasted by this datum – the conditions drawn together by brick materiality borrowed from the undercroft of the existing house.
National Award for Residential
Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Beck Street House by Lineburg Wang, Brisbane, Queensland
Summary
A compromised site burdened most significantly by flood and overland flow, the project is a balance of contrasts, defined by conditions below and above council’s Minimum Habitable Floor Level. Function is organised by this horizontal datum by necessity, construction types, conditions of light and introversion are contrasted by this datum – the conditions drawn together by brick materiality borrowed from the undercroft of the existing house.
Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones
In the terrain of the flood plain, a new red brick wall inserted falls away to piers, permeable to flood waters. Brick marches through the undercroft to far-reaching brick remnants retained at the rear of the site, growing from the terrain at places of outdoor gathering.
A new half-height platform sited between levels is negotiation of the Flood Report, bringing garden and outdoor amenity to the new lightweight public rooms. A 10-metre-tall gum is captured within, its trunk belonging to and informing the interior landscape.
In the terrain of the flood plain, a new red brick wall inserted falls away to piers, permeable to flood waters. Brick marches through the undercroft to far-reaching brick remnants retained at the rear of the site, growing from the terrain at places of outdoor gathering.
A new half-height platform sited between levels is negotiation of the Flood Report, bringing garden and outdoor amenity to the new lightweight public rooms. A 10-metre-tall gum is captured within, its trunk belonging to and informing the interior landscape.
Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones
Client’s perspective
“We wanted to create a home that was child-friendly for all ages, with different spaces to entertain our family and friends. The home also needed to house the outdoor lifestyle equipment we enjoy. The design has achieved this beautifully.
“The open flow from the kitchen, living, outdoor entertainment and pool connects us, but also allows us to be doing different things – cooking, reading, playing, watching TV or swimming. The orientation of the house onto the gardens helps to give a sense of privacy.
“The home has a calm feel to it, which is easy to relax in.”
Client’s perspective
“We wanted to create a home that was child-friendly for all ages, with different spaces to entertain our family and friends. The home also needed to house the outdoor lifestyle equipment we enjoy. The design has achieved this beautifully.
“The open flow from the kitchen, living, outdoor entertainment and pool connects us, but also allows us to be doing different things – cooking, reading, playing, watching TV or swimming. The orientation of the house onto the gardens helps to give a sense of privacy.
“The home has a calm feel to it, which is easy to relax in.”
Photo by Christopher Frederick Jones
Jury citation
A flood-prone, constrained site in Beck Street, Paddington is transformed into a multi-layered family home, connected to the outdoors. A veiled screen and elevated garden present to street with a sensitive scale that enhances the streetscape.
Materiality echoes the site terrain and qualities, creating an engaging arrival experience that transitions from the lower datum of the earthy, permeable undercroft to the upper, light-filled volumes that engage with the new landscape, creating a private oasis around the core of the 60s home.
Jury citation
A flood-prone, constrained site in Beck Street, Paddington is transformed into a multi-layered family home, connected to the outdoors. A veiled screen and elevated garden present to street with a sensitive scale that enhances the streetscape.
Materiality echoes the site terrain and qualities, creating an engaging arrival experience that transitions from the lower datum of the earthy, permeable undercroft to the upper, light-filled volumes that engage with the new landscape, creating a private oasis around the core of the 60s home.
Photo by Anthony Basheer
National Commendation for
Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions)
The Hat Factory by Welsh + Major Architects, Newtown, NSW
Summary
The Hat Factory, built on Gadigal Land, has survived fire, police invasion, and countless parties. It’s been a hat factory, a printers, a squat and a ‘social-centre’. Now it enters a new phase of its life.
The Hat Factory unpicks the romantic ideal of living in a warehouse. The two dwellings are permeable rather than hermetic – they are more like a pair of glass houses held within a masonry slipper than a loft-style apartment building. As vessels for knowledge, they retain memories of the past, at the same time offering a way to deliver compact, flexible urban living into the future.
National Commendation for
Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions)
The Hat Factory by Welsh + Major Architects, Newtown, NSW
Summary
The Hat Factory, built on Gadigal Land, has survived fire, police invasion, and countless parties. It’s been a hat factory, a printers, a squat and a ‘social-centre’. Now it enters a new phase of its life.
The Hat Factory unpicks the romantic ideal of living in a warehouse. The two dwellings are permeable rather than hermetic – they are more like a pair of glass houses held within a masonry slipper than a loft-style apartment building. As vessels for knowledge, they retain memories of the past, at the same time offering a way to deliver compact, flexible urban living into the future.
Photo by Anthony Basheer
Jury citation
The Hat Factory is an outstanding example of adaptive reuse of a dilapidated warehouse that has played a diverse role in the industrial and social life of the area. Located in a lively inner suburb of Sydney, the building occupies a prominent urban corner, acting as a sentinel to a popular local park with its large steel portal windows and multilayered facade playfully engaging the neighbourhood.
Browse more images of stunning Australian kitchens on Houzz
Jury citation
The Hat Factory is an outstanding example of adaptive reuse of a dilapidated warehouse that has played a diverse role in the industrial and social life of the area. Located in a lively inner suburb of Sydney, the building occupies a prominent urban corner, acting as a sentinel to a popular local park with its large steel portal windows and multilayered facade playfully engaging the neighbourhood.
Browse more images of stunning Australian kitchens on Houzz
Photo by Anthony Basheer
Internally, a colourful history that includes time as a factory, a printery, a notorious squat and a ‘social-centre’ has been cleverly drawn on in a series of features that reflect the building’s evolution. Remnants of the past such as graffiti from its days as a squat serve to appreciate the patina of the older surfaces and interplay with a patchwork of beautiful, contemporary materials.
Internally, a colourful history that includes time as a factory, a printery, a notorious squat and a ‘social-centre’ has been cleverly drawn on in a series of features that reflect the building’s evolution. Remnants of the past such as graffiti from its days as a squat serve to appreciate the patina of the older surfaces and interplay with a patchwork of beautiful, contemporary materials.
Photo by Anthony Basheer
In addressing a brief to retain as much of the original building fabric as possible and to allow for changing client needs in the future, the architects have achieved a richly multilayered experience, where the past has been respected as a source of inspiration but not at the cost of client functionality or aesthetic expectations. The architects are to be congratulated in their attention to detail where necessary, such as in the striking steel staircase, while the highly effective use of space makes the Hat Factory exemplary in its design for compact and flexible living in a challenging urban setting.
In addressing a brief to retain as much of the original building fabric as possible and to allow for changing client needs in the future, the architects have achieved a richly multilayered experience, where the past has been respected as a source of inspiration but not at the cost of client functionality or aesthetic expectations. The architects are to be congratulated in their attention to detail where necessary, such as in the striking steel staircase, while the highly effective use of space makes the Hat Factory exemplary in its design for compact and flexible living in a challenging urban setting.
Photo by Anthony Basheer
Your turn
Which of these homes appeals to you? Share your favourites in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the renovation conversation.
More
See the winners of the new homes categories here.
Your turn
Which of these homes appeals to you? Share your favourites in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the renovation conversation.
More
See the winners of the new homes categories here.
The Eleanor Cullis-Hill Award for
Residential Architecture
Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Beaconsfield House by Simon Pendal Architect, Beaconsfield, WA
Summary
The 1940s worker’s cottage has been given new life and extended – stripped-back to its timber frame, jarrah floor and front verandah. Only subtle changes in plan were made to the cottage so that its integrity was maintained. It has been treated on its merits as thin, modest and direct. There is beauty in its basic quality.