People's Choice Voting is now officially open!
The Grand Designs Australia Magazine House of the Year Awards are dedicated to honoring the remarkable accomplishments of architects in delivering exceptional residential projects for their clients. These awards undergo meticulous evaluation by a panel of esteemed architect professionals and are presented annually.
In addition to the main awards program, the People’s Choice Award is established to provide the public with a valuable resource for inspiration and networking opportunities. Furthermore, voters have the chance to win an extraordinary GoodWe Solar System Prize Pack valued at up to $10,000.
As a Gold Sponsor of the House of the Year Awards, Cosh Living are thrilled to support Grand Designs House of the Year and celebrate the incredible work of our trade partners. Check out all the amazing shortlisted contestants below and start voting!
Anderson Road by B.E Architecture
Above: Anderson Road by B.E_architecture, Photography: Victor Vieaux.
The dusty pink and red tones of the brick of Anderson Road, are important references of the clients’ Southeast Asian heritage. The brief was saturation and vibrancy of colour. This achieved this using Midland Bricks with colour-matched mortar colour to create great swaths of rich, red colour throughout the home.
Central to the brief was the idea of family. The house had to provide the privacy and intimacy for a family of four while being able to open, to entertain, to host and to grow. This means the needs of the immediate family or additional accommodation for multi-generational living when required. The program responds, allowing spaces for coming together or for providing respite.
Cast your vote now for Anderson Road, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Raheen by C.Kairouz Architects
Above: Raheen by C.K Airouz Architects, Builder: Dome Building, Landscape Design: Myles Baldwin
The design intention pays homage to the existing context of Raheen’s time and place. A knockdown-rebuild would be wasteful, but a sensitive renovation found the right balance for further improvement whilst retaining much loved elements. Removing smaller, poky rooms and uplifting spaces made the most of natural aspects of the architecture such as the raked timber lined ceilings and double-height voids. Moments which naturally leaned to opportunities for indoor/outdoor connection were seized, replacing smaller glazed sections with full height thinner framed openings for enhanced lighting.
Cast your vote now for Raheen, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Mary St by Edition Office
Above: Mary St by Edition Office Photography: @Arory Gardiner, Builder Format Group, Landscape: Amanda Oliver Gardens.
Mary St House is a reimagining of a well-worn Federation era home. Occupying the end of its street, the urban site is open to three sides, opening to the northern sun while simultaneously needing to overcome the challenges of facing onto a busy and noisy arterial road. The softly finished brickwork-walls shape the new social spaces of the house, creating a sequence of indoor and outdoor rooms within the remaining boundaries of the site.
Cast your vote now for Mary St, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Fisherman’s House by Studio Prineas
Above: Fisherman’s House by Studio Prineas, Photography: Gavin Green, Landscape: Bushy Landscapes, Joiner: Finch Projects, Editorial Styling: Atelier Lab
This cottage is the last remaining of a series of weatherboard cottages, originally built along the harbor frontage for the use of local fishermen. Over time, they’ve been demolished, and the harbour fronts significantly redeveloped.
From the outset, the architects saw an opportunity to restore and reinvent the original cottage form for contemporary living. They worked to retain the cottage and reimagine it internally to create a singular open family space. Impressions of the original walls are marked with expressed structural steel framing and a silhouette of the original plan within the floor.
Cast your vote now for Fisherman’s House, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Jan Juc Studio by Eldridge Anderson Architects
Above: Jan Juc Studio by Eldridge Anderson, Photography: Ben Hosking, Builder: Surfcoast Construction
A project in which the client was also the architect, the design was a fusion of environmental consideration and personal connection. The deep protective roof eaves, the connection to place, and quiet reflective spaces with a place to sit and engage with the landscape using sliding walls were ideas that all appealed to the architects when assembling early thoughts for the design. The format of the house was established and developed over a number of years refining the proportions and structure that inform the way the spaces operate The structure of the house also helps define smaller areas and functional zones within the larger space. External timber screens articulate the form and provided an opportunity to establish a layered adjustable perimeter.
Cast your vote now for Jan Juc Studio, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Erskineville House by Lachlan Seegers Architect
Above: Erskineville House by Lachlan Seegers Architect, Photography: Arory Gardiner
As part of the City of Sydney’s 1970 initiative to reinstate native vegetation cleared to make way for the expansion of the city, native saplings were offered to the general public free of charge. One of the remnants of this initiative, a 20m high Spotted Gum, is centre to this project and forms a natural counterpoint to the accumulated urban density of Erskineville.
The overall planning diagram was developed with a defined internal courtyard to address the narrow width of the site and inevitable proximity of the Spotted Gum. This resulted in a sense of secluded transparency with the new living areas encasing the private courtyard whilst the existing heritage fabric formed a protective threshold to the street.
Cast your vote now for Erskineville House, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Mossy Point House by Edition Office
Above: Mary St by Edition Office Photography: Arory Gardiner, Builder: Smith and Primmer, Landscape: Florian Wild
The house required a robust design methodology to respond to its modest budget while maintaining an acutely defined relationship to its interior and the surrounding landscape. The simple cement-sheet cladding references the smooth, silvery bark of the towering spotted gum tress that surround the house, while echoing the tiny 'fibro' shack that was the original occupant of the site. Low cost and naturally resilient materials were utilised throughout the project, with sustainably sourced timber being the dominant structural and interior finish material.
Cast your vote now for Mossy Point House, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
A House for Grandma by Natalie Brcar
Above: A House for Grandma by Natalie Brcar Photography: Justin Alexanderphoto, Builder: Cubic Construction Management, Structural Engineer: Cantilever Engineers, Landscape Architect: Even Spaces.
House for Grandma explores a variety of scales & volumes within a modest footprint, from the narrow entry hallway with low level glimpses to the external courtyard to the secluded bedroom with curved external wall peeling away to provide curated views to the landscape. The new 60sqm residence contains an open plan Kitchen/Living/Dining space, a separate bedroom with WFH amenity, bathroom with laundry cupboard and a 25 square metre private courtyard.
Cast your vote now for A House for Grandma, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Pop Top by Licht Architecture
Above: Pop Top by Licht Architecture, Photography: @adam.gibson.photo, Builder: Soda Projects.
The project delivers a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom home atop an existing garage, carport and storage space. The open carport promotes a sense of lightness for the white crisp addition above amplified by a delicate vertical materiality approach. A deck connected by an operable glazed wall provides a sense of spatial generosity to a modest living footprint. A laundry is located outside rather, concealed in a covered bbq area allowing a more spacious and simplified bathroom.
This project is an exercise in balancing a sense of spatial generosity in a small footprint while maintaining the privacy of its occupants and neighbours. Angled aluminium fins screen the western elevation and direct the eye to kunanyi and valleys to the North while screening closely nestled neighbours. This screen runs partially across both levels to play with scale and provide a considered backdrop for the neighbour’s outdoor space.
Cast your vote now for Pop Top, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Off Grid House by Archier
Above: Off Grid House by Archier, Photography: @thurstonempson.
Traditionally, families from this area gathered at the church, so the structure relates to the volumes of a civic meeting place. The gables on each side ensure the views from the house capture the full aspect of the landscape, from the creek at the bottom of the valley to the ridgeline of the surrounding mountains. The large vertical expanse creates an open connection between the upstairs rumpus room and the downstairs living area. The bunk area connected to the rumpus serves to create a quasi-public sleeping area - supporting the requirement for the house to sleep 12, and providing childlike fun, event for adults. The downstairs bedrooms support the functions of the immediate family. The origami roofline seeks to reflect the topography of the surrounding environment; its colour mimicking the tones of the mountain rocks and the creek.
Cast your vote now for Off Grid House,Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Local House by Zen Architects
Above: Local House by Zen Architects Photography: Derek Swalwell Builder: Grenville Architectural Construction, Landscape Amanda Oliver Gardens.
Local House is home to a couple who love art and travelling and have a great appreciation for design. They have four adult children and recently became grandparents, and wanted a house where their family could comfortably visit and stay having lived on the block for 30 years prior.
Working with the contours, Zen Architects were able to create a single level home that is accessible, designed for aging in place whilst reducing the footprint by almost 100 square metres.
The concept hinges off the inside outside connection of the garden to separate private, public and guest spaces. A raw, natural palette of timber and Castlemaine slate define the garden zone.
Cast your vote now for Local House, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Sunday by Architecture Architecture
Above: Sunday by Architecture Architecture, Photography: Tom Ross, Builder: Grenville Achitectural Construction, Landscape: Amanda Oliver Gardens.
Sunday is a home where occupants can always find a place of comfort: social and private spaces; generous and intimate spaces; spaces to gather and spaces to retreat. Despite a 175 square metre site, the architects were able to establish a diversity of spaces and create a spectrum of social and private spaces throughout the home. The courtyard is connected to the rest of the spaces, becoming an outdoor room and creating a feeling of cohesion throughout the home.
Cast your vote now for Sunday, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Studio Uno by Mihaly Slocombe Architects
Above: Studio Uno by Mihaly Slocombe Architects, Builder: Sargant construction.
Tucked away down a Brunswick bluestone lane, Studio Uno is an unexpected sanctuary. It lies at the rear of an established house, replacing the site’s back fence to directly border the laneway. The unit’s proximity to a publicly accessible thoroughfare, and the backyards of adjacent homes, has been carefully navigated to create an outcome that optimises value for our client, while minimising impact on the neighbourhood.
Inside, the unit is crafted to create a calm, intentional retreat that offers the client the tailored functionality and grounded ambience she requires. Each space easily facilitates its relevant purpose - whether it be the versatile living space equally equipped for dining, practicing art or enjoying a cup of tea, or the first-floor loft bedroom that fosters a truly secluded, cosy resting environment.
Cast your vote now for Studio Uno, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Music box by Multiplicity
Above: Music box by Multiplicity, Photography: Trevor Mein
The owners desired a high level of privacy and security, but also required the home to present a beautiful and welcoming appearance to the exterior, to add to the streetscape vista in a measured manner rather than dominate or assert itself too aggressively - to avoid “harsh, chest beating architecture” as the clients themselves put it.
As such, the carefully selected Australian blackbutt battens cladding the exterior softened the visual impact of the building form, the natural greying-off of the timber helping settle the house into the streetscape and creating a visual connection between the home and the numerous trees lining the well-trafficked river-side footpath running behind the property.
Cast your vote now for Music Box, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
AB House by MI-JI
Above: AB House by MI-JI, Photography: Ben Hosking, Contractor: DW builds, Steel Fabricator Ore Designs, Landscaper Growing Designs, Landscape Architect: Bush Projects, Assistant Peter Morganson.
At the core of this house’s conceptual framework is a question of separation and connection across the occupation of a holiday home. Organised into zones of different uses (long term, short term, and transition space), each element of the house is arranged via the rotational play of the corridor that generates complimentary opportunities for light, shade, and ventilation while ensuring seclusion.
At eye level, each part of the house is provided with different viewpoints and different areas of the garden. Above eye level, skylights along the west and east allow the collective areas to capture the sun, while maintaining privacy from neighbouring properties.
Cast your vote now for AB House, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Amara by Smart Design Studio
Above: Amara by @smart.design.studio Photography: @romellopereirastudio Builder Grosser Constructions.
An honest approach to this extensive renovation to a Federation Arts and Crafts residence sees the original home reinstated and the new addition expressed as a double height glass box. Within this discreet yet dramatic new structure is a light filled kitchen and family room at ground level, overlooked by a study within a sculpted mezzanine level above. A four-by-three-metre glass door slides open beside the granite-lined pond planted with a single ficus tree, providing a decorative flourish.
Cast your vote now for Amara, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
House in the Dry by MRTN Architects
Above: House in the Dry by @mrtn_architects Photography: Anthony Basheer Builder: @jscontracting
The design sits low on the land, with elongated forms that recede into the landscape. Providing views of the foothills and a sense of being embedded within the Australian landscape, the finished house is intelligent in design but simple in expression.
Tamworth is highly prone to drought therefore the house was focused, not only on regenerating the land and creating a garden, but also on resisting drought conditions in future.
The central courtyard is a green and shaded space which creates subtle temperature differences to the landscape beyond the house, this generates passive ventilation within the shaded breezeways.
Cast your vote now for House in the Dry, Visit: https://www.houseoftheyear.com.au/gda-hoty3/gallery
Click here to explore all the finalists and cast your vote for your favourite home.