It’s not only humans who need to adapt to the current environmental and economic climate – homes have to as well. And the results are some of the big winners at this year’s 2024 Houses Awards.
A jury of Australia’s premier architecture and design experts, along with specialist advisors, came together to choose this year’s winners. From environmental issues and sustainability to increased working from home and population challenges across the cities and the regions, the contemporary Australian home faces an uphill battle in many ways – but the diverse list of winners shows how clever, thought-out designs can find solutions.
The overall Australian House of the Year was awarded to Red Hill House and Studio by Zuzana and Nicholas. The architects live and work in the suburban Brisbane home and have created a house that knits together the public and private. An update of an existing worker’s cottage, it also won the House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Square Metres category.
Another suburban home, Shed House by Breakspear Architects, also cleverly brings a workspace into the home and takes the current economic climate into account, using robust yet inexpensive materials to create a reliable design. It won New House Over 200 Square Metres award.
The winner of New House Under 200 Square Metres is Courtyard House by Clare Cousins Architects, a former corner milk bar that’s been transformed into a small, playful, inner-suburban residence that nods to its history; it’s also the joint winner of the House in a Heritage Context category.
The category’s other winner, Tomich House by Mark Jeavons Architect with Ohio Studio, is a renovation of a 1971 home by Perth architect Iwan Iwanoff that had fallen into disrepair. It was reinvigorated with a sensitive restoration that honours its architectural legacy.
There was another tie for the award for House Alteration and Addition Over 200 Square Metres: Arcadia by Plus Minus Design, which saw a 1920s home carefully reshaped around a courtyard pool, and Blue Mountains House by Anthony Gill Architects, a renovation made all the more complicated (and impressive) by being on a classified flame zone – meaning an extreme risk of bushfires.
57 Martin Street by Neometro took out the award for Apartment or Unit, with the jury recognising it as an innovation in medium-density housing and an example of sustainable living in inner suburbs as city populations rise.
In the Garden or Landscape category, Redfern House by Anthony Gill Architects with Sacha Coles won for its textural rooftop garden and proliferation of green spaces within the terrace house. And Carrickalinga Shed by Architects Ink, a homestead in South Australia with a biophilic, nature-friendly design, sectional layout and solar, battery and rainwater solutions, won in the Sustainability category.
Two design firms were awarded in the Emerging Architecture Practice category: Architect George in NSW and SSdH in Victoria.
