2020 Houses Awards: Apartment or Unit

Jury comment

Cremorne Point Apartment is a work of intelligent, restrained design. Its simplicity and limited palette of white walls and pale oak timber bring light and life deep into the interior of this moderately sized apartment in a way that might seem inevitable. Yet it has taken Studio Plus Three’s sure hand and subtle confidence to make it happen.

A reworking of a 1980s apartment in Sydney’s Cremorne, the project replaces a semi-enclosed kitchen and opens up the interior to harbour views. With minimal structural alteration, it allows the floor plan to manifest both private and contiguous space, which is in itself a transformative approach that makes modest spaces appear generous. The architect has held true to the design idea in every detail of its execution. Of course, Cremorne Point Apartment has its own calm, clear personality. The design is balanced, however, in such a way that the owners can choose to add their own personality – there is room for them.

For an architect, it is often difficult to decide where architecture ends and decoration begins. But at Cremorne Point Apartment the line is drawn clearly and results in an architectural outcome that is punctuated by clarity.

The Award for Apartment or Unit is supported by Allegion. See full image galleries of all the winning and shortlisted projects here.