Peter Maddison’s 21 grandest Australian design homes

Celebrated architect Peter Maddison has put together his definitive list of the best 21 homes from the nine seasons of hit TV show Grand Designs Australia.

These are the best of the best, the grandest of the grand — Australia’s ultimate designer homes.

Celebrated architect and host of the hit Foxtel show Peter Maddison has ranked his 21 Grandest Homes of every season ahead of this year’s series kick off - the very best architecturally designed homes this country has to offer.

From tent homes and bushfire houses to sand dunes and chipboard to 50s Pop Art and a Whale Tail, these stunning properties find much of their inspiration and influence in the extremes and beauty of this Great Southern Land.

Grand Designs Australia host Peter Maddison with Tamborine Mountain couple Sarah and David Hobart. Picture: Foxtel/Rhiannon Slatter

The designers and builders discovered many of their challenges and solutions in familiar questions faces humanity today, those of sustainability and environmental concern.

In choosing his Grandest Designs, Mr Maddison said he prioritised “architecture that is derived from materials that are from the place (the site of the house), or have a synergy to the place, to create a style that relates to the environment the home sits in.”

He also chose architecture “that is original in its own right. It might have an element you can’t quite put your finger on, or if you have seen it somewhere, it’s not derivative. It’s original.

Mystery Bay’s Grand Design. Picture: Rhiannon Slatter

“There are a couple of aspects that make important buildings. One is the human story and the personality that goes into creating buildings. That’s what we follow on Grand Designs — the story is as strong as the sunsets and the architecture and the builder. It’s the story and the meaning that goes into it.

“The other aspect is the architecture itself, and what these houses are creating in terms of a built legacy for Australia. What Australian can learn from them? Being an architect, I’ve veered [towards properties that] created an inspiration for others to learn from, and that will leave a built legacy that will outlast the human story.”

Vote and have your say. See which house readers think should be at the top of the list below.

The new series of Grand Designs Australia starts Wednesdays at 8.30pm from March 31 on Foxtel’s LifeStyle channel.

Originally published as Peter Maddison’s 21 grandest Australian design homes