The country’s most innovative, sustainable and inspirational homes have been named in the 2024 Houses Awards with a refurbished Brisbane timber worker’s cottage that doubles as a home and business taking out the premier award of Australian House of the Year.
The winners represent the pinnacle of Australian residential architecture and are testament to the importance of good design in addressing present-day environmental, economic and population challenges. Such was the strength of this year’s entries, the jury awarded joint prize winners across three categories.
These diverse houses provide insight into how the contemporary Australian home is changing, and how the country’s best emerging and established designers are rising to meet complex briefs and responding to new modes of living with compelling solutions. The awarded homes include first-class examples of amalgamated living and work environments to accommodate working from home, a dwelling that promotes both environmental and human wellbeing, and existing housing stock that has been thoughtfully and sustainably transformed, rather than rebuilt.
The awarded projects have much in common. In the pursuit of more cost-effective and durable building materials, the archetypal Australian shed was a repeated source of inspiration. Multiple projects were based around central courtyards that connect occupants to place and climate.
Houses magazine editor and Houses Awards jury chair Alexa Kempton explained: “The Houses Awards underscore the ingenuity and creativity that architects and designers can bring to a residential project on any budget and under challenging circumstances. This year, client briefs were met with well-crafted and sophisticated architectural thinking and the jury recognised the high level of adaptability inherent in this year’s houses. A home’s longevity and flexibility were paramount.”
She adds: “Many homes demonstrated sustainable and responsible design, both in materiality and cost. The jury was delighted with alterations that celebrated an existing house and carefully maintained a relationship between old and new, as well as homes that generously engaged in a conversation with the street and community.”
The premier title of Australian House of the Year was awarded to Red Hill House and Studio by Zuzana and Nicholas (QLD), a stunning suburban home in Brisbane that is also the workplace of the architect owners. Deftly knitting together the public and private spaces, Red Hill House is an exceptional example of how a home and workplace can be thoughtfully combined in one site. The home also took out the House Alteration and Addition under 200 sqm category, in recognition of its intricate update to an existing worker’s cottage.
Reminiscent of the typical Australian backyard shed, New House over 200 sqm Shed House by Breakspear Architects (NSW) is also an exemplary suburban home that cleverly melds home and workspaces. In a climate of economic hardship, its use of robust and inexpensive materials demonstrates how high-impact design can be achieved with less costly materials.
New House under 200 sqm was awarded to a former corner milkbar transformed into a delightful courtyard home. Courtyard House by Clare Cousins Architects (VIC) is a thoughtful yet playful example of how small-footprint, inner-suburban residences can be produced sensitively to their historical origins. For this reason, the home was also recognised as the joint winner of the House in a Heritage Context category.
House Alteration and Addition over 200 sqm was awarded to two homes. Arcadia by Plus Minus Design (NSW), is a delicate reshaping of a 1920s house, which carefully restores the original home and transposes it around a courtyard pool. Joint category prizewinner Blue Mountains House by Anthony Gill Architects (NSW) is a masterful renovation and restoration of an existing home on a highly complicated site – a classified flame zone on the edge of a valley in the Blue Mountains.
In the Apartment or Unit category 57 Martin Street by Neometro (VIC) was recognised by the jury as a blueprint for how modest, medium-density homes in inner suburbia could be designed to promote sustainable living as city populations climb.
Terrace homes are not known for their sprawling gardens, yet the Garden or Landscape title was awarded to Redfern House by Anthony Gill Architects with Sacha Coles (NSW). It features a generous textural rooftop garden and a patchwork of green spaces throughout the home and demonstrates the role every suburban block can play in rewilding our cities.
Co-winner of the House in a Heritage Context category, Tomich House by Mark Jeavons Architect with Ohlo Studio (WA), is a revival of a distinctive 1971 Iwan Iwanoff home that had fallen into disrepair. The jury observed the sensitive restoration of the home’s original features and the careful extension honoured its architectural legacy.
Carrickalinga Shed by Architects Ink (SA) is a South Australian homestead that is deeply interested in both environmental health and the wellbeing of its occupants. The resilient, zoned steel structure is an interpretation of an Australian Federation farmhouse that protects a central courtyard from the Fleurieu Peninsula elements. The biophilic design strategy, sectional layout and investment in solar, battery and rainwater harvesting technologies made it a clear victor in the Sustainability category.
Emerging Architecture Practice was awarded to two design firms in 2024. Architect George (NSW) for their ability to overcome site complexities with skill and a sense of playfulness and SSdH (VIC) who set themselves apart for their approach to championing undervalued building stock.
The complete list of 2024 Houses Awards winners:
- Australian House of the Year – Red Hill House and Studio by Zuzana and Nicholas (QLD)
- New House Over 200 Square Metres – Shed House by Breakspear Architects (NSW)
- New House Under 200 Square Metres – Courtyard House by Clare Cousins Architects (VIC)
- House Alteration and Addition Over 200 Square Metres (joint winner) – Arcadia by Plus Minus Design (NSW)
- House Alteration and Addition Over 200 Square Metres (joint winner) – Blue Mountains House by Anthony Gill Architects (NSW)
- House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Square Metres – Red Hill House and Studio by Zuzana and Nicholas (QLD)
- Apartment or Unit – 57 Martin Street by Neometro (VIC)
- Garden or Landscape – Redfern House by Anthony Gill Architects with Sacha Coles (NSW)
- House in a Heritage Context (joint winner) – Courtyard House by Clare Cousins Architects (VIC)
- House in a Heritage Context (joint winner) – Tomich House by Mark Jeavons Architect with Ohlo Studio (WA)
- Sustainability – Carrickalinga Shed by Architects Ink (SA)
- Emerging Architecture Practice (joint winner) – Architect George (NSW)
- Emerging Architecture Practice (joint winner) – SSdH (VIC)
The 2024 jury included:
- Sophie Bence, founder and co-director, Bence Mulcahy
- Adam Haddow, director, SJB
- Marika Neustupny, founding director, NMBW Architecture Studio
- Lachlan Nielsen, director, Nielsen Jenkins
- Alexa Kempton (jury chair) editor, Houses magazine, Architecture Media
- Simone Bliss (Garden or Landscape advisor) creative director, SBLA Studio
- Louise Honman (Heritage advisor) built heritage specialist
- Dr Pippa Soccio (Sustainability advisor) senior research scientist in building monitoring, CSIRO
The winners are also detailed on the Houses Awards website, and a full report of the winners will also be published in the August issue of Houses.
