Everything old is new again as Brisbane’s best house is crowned

A heritage-listed New Farm home transformed to make the most of Brisbane’s abundance of light for its resident artist has earned the title of Brisbane’s House of the Year.

Like many of the suburb’s locals, Pip and Nick Spiro lusted after Sydney House – a postwar brick house on the corner of Sydney and Hazlewood streets – for years before they seized the opportunity to buy it in 2012.

The original Sydney House was built in 1951. Credit: Australian Institute of Architects

At the time, the house was vacant, riddled with cracks and the garden overgrown. Despite this, the couple (Nick’s sister is well-known Brisbane designer Anna Spiro) saw its potential and in 2017 embarked on a renovation to accommodate their growing family.

“It’s a real treasure of the suburb,” said their architect Sandy Cavill, director of Cavill Architects.

The couple loved the house in its original form, but as Cavill explained, the living spaces were “teeny-tiny” and the traditional backyard was unused. “It kind of felt like an apartment with one garage,” Cavill said.

The house has been transformed into a four-bedroom family home with three bathrooms, two living spaces, and a pool for the couple and their three children.

The kitchen opens up to one of two courtyards that maximise Brisbane’s outdoor lifestyle, but also provide privacy from the street with a series of elevated, concrete walls.

“What we’ve ended up with is a filtering of the privacy into that space, that is still friendly to the street, without being fortress-like,” Cavill said.

“That whole kitchen courtyard has this wonderful north-easterly aspect.”

What was previously the dining room has been converted into a foyer and gallery with independent street access for artist Pip.

The kitchen and courtyard in the extension of Sydney House.Credit: Australian Institute of Architects

“That was central to the brief,” Cavill said. “She was working in an old laundry out the back. The new studio has been designed with a series of windows and skylights to diffuse the daylight, so there are never any shadows under her hands on the easel.”

The original house was built in 1951 on the site of a former toy factory by Noel Kratzmann, an influential builder in Brisbane’s postwar reconstruction.

The extension uses an inversion of the materials in Kratzmann’s original: The new external walls are rendered in a texture that mimics the old stucco interior, while brick features in the kitchen.

It has retained curved brick corners and concrete cantilevered window hoods – all features of the existing home’s “inter-war functionalist” style.

However, the living spaces have been reconfigured for contemporary life. “All of its living spaces were above ground, but the extension was a way of getting the house back onto the ground – that’s a contemporary thing, not really a traditional Queenslander thing,” Cavill said.

He conceded the property’s heritage listing slowed the renovation process: “Two years of design and 18 months’ construction.”

But he is passionate about preserving Brisbane’s postwar homes and argued more should be heritage-listed.

“Everyone in Brisbane is laser-focused on protecting buildings that are pre-war, but no one is paying attention to buildings that are postwar that are often much more well-built.

Sydney House.Credit: Australian Institute of Architects

“In theory, if this home was left untouched, it should stand for an extra 100 years above a wooden Queenslander.

“We’re all focused on preserving Queenslanders, of which we have millions. No one is paying attention to these postwar treasures … and there aren’t many of them.”

He points to Coorparoo, St Lucia and The Gap, where more examples of postwar architecture could be preserved.

“We should be starting to look at all of our building stock – and I’m sure we will be in future – in its inherent value and how it can be used without having to knock it down and rebuild.”

Allison Stout, co-chair of the Australian Institute of Architects’ awards for Greater Brisbane, said this year’s top picks demonstrated a “movement away from populist design”.

“There was a short period of time where people were homogenising designs, including the Queenslander design,” she said, speaking of the abundance of newly built, whitewashed weatherboard homes incorrectly referred to as Hamptons-style homes.

“But now people are being independent.”

Nestled on Point Lookout, Stradbroke Island, the Blok Three Sisters home was recognised as the Building of the Year.Credit: Australian Institute of Architects

A prefabricated home on Stradbroke Island was recognised as Greater Brisbane’s Building of the Year.

Designed by Blok Modular in collaboration with architects Vokes and Peters, the home on Point Lookout was commissioned by three sisters. The judges noted that “the unconventional prefabricated terrace house model provides privacy and community and sits comfortably within a relaxed island setting”.

Blok Three Sisters.

“This housing type can be integrated into Brisbane’s suburban landscape, including backyard sites, to offer a flexible solution to housing needs,” they said.

Inside the Blok Three Sisters property.

These are some of the homes that received commendations:

Balmoral Hillside House

Architect: Kieron Gait Architects

“Balmoral Hillside house is a reconfiguration of a faux Queenslander in the Brisbane suburb of Balmoral. Despite its hillside site affording expansive views from the upper level, the owners wanted to forge strong connections to the garden for their three young boys,” Kieron Gait said.

Balmoral Hillside.

Ewart House + Studio

Architect: Hall and Roberts Studio

Ewart House is a sympathetic reworking of an 1890s worker’s cottage, tucked away on a 200-square-metre corner lot in the inner-suburb of Paddington.

In this case, partners and architects Elizabeth Hall and Ruairi Roberts, of Hall and Roberts Studio, were renovating their own home.

Ewart House.

“We set out to repair and revitalise an old, 130-plus-year-old cottage on a tight budget,” they said.

“In a time when the average home size exceeds 240 square metres, we also saw an opportunity to highlight that a 100-square-metre home on a 200-square-metre plot of land is more than enough space for us as a young couple whilst also being future-proof for a small family.

Ewart House.

“Cozy spaces are made to feel infinitely bigger by the use of large apertures and openable walls; natural light, air and landscape are all harnessed as extensions of the plan.”

Niwa House

Architect: John Ellway

“The house is for a family of four with room to grow throughout the year as grandparents from overseas spend time with the young family. Designed during COVID lockdowns, and built as work practices were changing, both adults work from home in dedicated office spaces most of the week,” architect John Ellway said.

Niwa House.

“The central garden is planted as a space you look upon rather than sit within – like many Japanese garden spaces.”

Quadrant House

Architect: Kieron Gait Architects

“A modest extension to a Queensland worker’s cottage, the owners wanted to have a little extra space for their family to grow into their teenage years. The family had planted the rear garden over the years, resulting in beautifully mature and deep planting,” architect Kieron Gait said.

Quadrant House.

“A new extension, built on an existing deck structure to reduce costs, was designed to engage with ground, sky and tree canopy. The rear elevation takes the form of four quadrants, providing an emphasis on a different part of the site from each.

“The dining space looks out to the tree canopy. A bifold window, protected by a deep overhang, opens up so that the space is like a balcony.”