The best Brisbane has to offer recognised at builders awards

The winner of a coveted building House of the Year award might just boast one of the most unusual construction approaches

MCD Construction took out the House of the Year Award at the Master Builders Brisbane Housing and Construction Awards for this Highgate Hill house on a cliff. Photo. supplied.

A Highgate Hill clifftop river residence complete with frog ponds was one of the big winners at the Master Builders Brisbane Housing and Construction awards held last Friday.

The Awards showcase the best the river city has to offer across residential, commercial and tourism construction with East Brisbane based MCD Construction taking out the highest award for House of the Year with the Highgate Hill project.

Commended by the judges for its “open living space and great liveability” MCD Construction Managing Director Cameron McDonald said the win was an honour.

Created over 15 months, Mr McDonald said the home was inspired by a commitment to the historical and environmental values of the site.

“It was a very complex house .... unforgiving in terms of if we got it right or got it wrong ....,” Mr McDonald said.

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From plumbers using abseiling equipment to install infrastructure, to protecting and incorporating near hundred year old historical walls, Mr McDonald said the house was a triumph for the entire team.

“We’ve done projects that have run for as long but this one was really detailed in what we were trying to achieve,” Mr McDonald said.

“It was challenging and complex in its entirety. It was really important for them (the clients) that this was there forever home.”

“The whole project has been about preserving where you could. Anything we had to disturb down the cliff to the river we tried to restore ... we had a stone wall we had to remove and every rock went back in place to where it was .. there’s a lot of love going into it.”

He said people often got carried away with the value of the biggest homes but it was often the smaller details, like frog ponds or restoring small brick walls right down to replacing the moss, that were most exciting.

“We love what we do but my socks were absolutely blown off on Friday when we were given this award and so honoured,” Mr McDonald said.

Frog ponds and attention to the environment are just part of the award-winning aesthetic for the Master Builders Brisbane Housing and Construction Awards House of the Year. Photo. Supplied.

The company also took home the prized Individual Home $1.26 million - $2 million for the build and won the Refurbishment/Renovatmion $750,000 to $5 million prize for their Walter’s Steakhouse in the Brisbane CBD.

The judges commented the project’s “off-form concrete and the ability to get that so perfect off-form is fantastic and shows the level of skill of this builder”.

The home was also recognised for incorporating “ different materials, timber, steel, concrete block that’s quite industrial but it’s all beautifully tied together and softened with strategic use and placement of greenery ....it’s visually stimulating but it’s not an overly complicated design, it flows.”

Perched on the Brisbane River this Highgate Hill house has taken out the Master Builders’ Brisbane Housing and Construction Award for House of the Year. Photo. Supplied

Other big winners included Multiplex Construction (Project of the Year) for the W Hotel and Brisbane Quarter as well as receiving an Excellence in Workplace Health and Safety Award and the Tourism and Leisure Facilities over $10 million award.

The President’s Award went to McDonald Jones Homes Pty Ltd T/A Brighton Homes Queensland for Mika 35 in South Ripley.

Judges said Mika 35 was a home that “exudes expensive and luxury but it’s a budget home. This is created through numerous elements including the butler’s pantry and floor-to-ceiling tiles in the wet areas. They’ve incorporated nice touches that don’t go over the top”.

The awards recognise 55 categories across

House of the Year by MCD Construction at Highgate Hill. Photo. Supplied.

Master Builders’ CEO, Grant Galvin said it was once again exciting to celebrate “such great craftsmanship and the quality building practices of our members”.

“The diversity was inspiring, making picking the winners a real challenge for the judges. It also highlighted the broad spectrum of the building industry where our members work.

“The Housing & Construction Awards provides an opportunity to recognise this talent. It’s humbling to know that for over 30 years, the Awards continue to be sought-after by the state’s top builders and tradespeople.”

Other residential awards include.

• Optimal living delights Winner of the 2019 Brisbane President’s Award – McDonald Jones Homes Pty Ltd T/A Brighton Homes Queensland
• Home Renovation/Remodelling Project up to $275,000 – King Builders Pty Ltd for Jacaranda House (Mount Gravatt East)
• Home Renovation/Remodelling Project $276,000 – $575,000 – DJ Built Homes Pty Ltd for Doughty Renovation (Holland Park West)
• Home Renovation/Remodelling Project $576,000 – $1 million – Nicholas Copeland Pty Ltd for Warilda (Camp Hill)
• Home Renovation/Remodelling Project over $1 million – Zephyr Industries Pty Ltd for Belvedere (Ascot)
• Display Home up to $250,000 – Coral Homes Qld Pty Ltd for Noosa 23MKII – Mornington facade (Logan Reserve)
• Display Home $251,000 – $350,000 – McDonald Jones Homes Pty Ltd T/A Brighton Homes Queensland for Mika 35 (South Ripley)
• Display Home $351,000 – $450,000 – McDonald Jones Homes Pty Ltd T/A Brighton Homes Queensland for Oscar 37 (Pallara)
• Display Home $451,000 – $550,000 – McDonald Jones Homes Pty Ltd T/A Brighton Homes Queensland for Preston 40 (South Ripley)
• Display Home over $551,000 – McLachlan Special Projects Pty Ltd for The Sea Breeze (Newport)
• Individual Home up to $250,000 – David A Bartle for Hemmant Tower (Hemmant)
• Individual Home $251,000 – $350,000 – Australasian Homes Pty Ltd T/A Valcon Homes for Vista 227 (Bahrs Scrub)
• Individual Home $351,000 – $450,000 – D3K Constructions PTY LTD T/A Stroud Homes Brisbane East for Wildflower 256 Skillion facade (Sherwoood)
• Individual Home $451,000 – $550,000 – VJ Homes Pty Ltd T/A Oceanview Constructions for Whitehall (Birkdale)
• Individual Home $551,000 – $650,000 – Zephyr Industries Pty Ltd for Bayview Glasshouse (Wavell Heights)

Individual Home $551,000 – $650,000 – Zephyr Industries Pty Ltd for Bayview Glasshouse (Wavell Heights)

• Individual Home $651,000 – $750,000 – Arlidge Constructions Pty Ltd for Sherwood Courtyard Home (Sherwood)
• Individual Home $751,000 – $950,000 – Eco Building Services Pty Ltd for Grange Residence (Grange)

Individual Home $751,000 – $950,000 – Eco Building Services Pty Ltd for Grange Residence (Grange)

• Individual Home $951,000 – $1.25 million – Cardwell Pty Ltd T/A Knowlman McDonald for Corinda House (Corinda)
• Individual Home $1.26 million – $2 million – MCD Construction (Qld) Pty Ltd T/A MCD Construction for Highgate Hill Residence (Highgate Hill)
• Individual Home over $2 million – J Hutchinson Pty Ltd T/A Hutchinson Builders for Hill House (Pullenvale)
• Best Use of Small Sites – Alan G Newitt for KARINYA (Petrie Terrace)

Best Use of Small Sites - Alan G Newitt - Karinya - Petrie Terrace

• Best Use of Sloping Sites – Graya Construction Pty Ltd for Upper Cairns House (Paddington)
• Best Use of Steel Frame Housing – Stroud Homes Brisbane South Pty Ltd for Montego 393 Display Home (New Beith)
• Medium Density up to 3 Storeys – 2 to 5 Dwellings – Dux Designer Homes Pty Ltd T/A PPI Construction for Napier Residence (Ascot)
• Medium Density up to 3 storeys – over 5 Dwellings – Sunland Homes Pty Ltd for Shea Residences (St Lucia)
• Excellence in Sustainable Living – ARP Building Group Pty Ltd for La Fleur (Auchenflower)