Bizarre homes reveal future of living
These award-winning shows reveal the futuristic and cutting edge living we may all enjoy and it could be sooner than you think.
From the sea to the city, these are the properties that reinvent our understanding of the Australian home.
An eclectic mix of properties from regional and urban environments have received top honours at the Australian Institute of Architects 2024 NSW Architecture Awards
The winners included an “anomaly” home plugged into a tight city laneway and a modular house squared into a triangular block.
MORE: Is this Australia’s craaaziest home?
Chapter president and national president elect of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Adam Haddow said sustainability and housing remained the “two biggest challenges of our age” – themes that were addressed by many of the 82 winners and commendations named across 19 residential and public space categories.
“This year’s awarded projects help show how great the future is,” Mr Haddow said.
MORE: King Charles, Prince Andrew at war over 30-room mansion
Here are the award winners in the category of Residential Architecture – House (new).
2024 NSW ARCHITECTURE AWARD WINNERS
Kidman Lane by Plus Minus Design
Kidman Lane was described as “both an anomaly and a perfect fit” by the award jury of architects and property experts.
Set among the tightly placed terraces of Paddington, the small house blends easily to the streetscape despite its modern design. But it offers something its more traditional neighbours don’t – a sense of openness and grandeur in a suburb where small homes reign supreme.
MORE: Home loan guru’s big money warning
Blok Belongil by Blok Modular with Vokes and Peters
How do you fit a square peg in a triangular hole? Clever design. Blok Belongil in Byron Bay challenges assumptions around modular homes, particularly given its triangular site.
“Factory built, the detail and resolution far exceed that of a typical house built to the same budget,” the jury wrote. “Blok Belongil presents an exciting alternative for the future.”
Shed House by Breakspear Architects
Slated by the jury as an “alternative housing model for our suburbs” the Earlwood home was designed for a family’s furniture business and includes an adaptable ground floor workshop.
The first floor has living spaces arranged around a central courtyard with bedrooms at each corner, while windows to all rooms at the front and rear could be repeated across a suburb at larger scale in “a new kind of terrace house arrangement,” the jury wrote.
MORE: Yolanda Hadid, Kylie Jenner’s ex-home could sell for $52m
Maitland Bay House by Studio Bright
Connected to its Central Coast surrounds, this Maitland Bay house blends into the angophoras and cliffs thanks to its subtle design and bushfire savvy brick construction, while having cosy views of the ocean beyond. The house was awarded the Wilkinson Award.
Clifton House by Anthony Gill Architects
The unique Bondi home features a first floor of bedrooms as well as fibreglass clad greenhouses that create an “otherworldly environment,” the jury wrote. Skylights bring the greenhouse effect to the ground floor.
Originally published as Bizarre homes reveal future of living