A deceptively simple house that can be adapted in the future into three compact dwellings has taken out the top prize at the 2021 Houses Awards.
“This resourceful home reminds us that you don’t need an excessive amount of money nor a large footprint to live well; nothing here is superfluous and every detail is carefully considered,” said the jury of Three House by John Ellway Architect, which was named the 2021 Australian House of the Year.
Jury chair Katelin Butler added, “The winning houses are exemplary built works, but the real skill is in the careful consideration of how to improve the daily lives of those who live in these homes.
“In particular, access to private outdoor space has certainly been given even more emphasis since the onset of the pandemic – and how the interior spaces connect to these outdoor living spaces governs how often these areas are used.”
Butler was joined on the jury by Anita Panov (Panov Scott Architects), Louise Wright (Baracco and Wright Architects), Phil Harris (Troppo), and Will Fung (Co-ap), with Dominique Hes from the Melbourne School of Design as sustainability advisor, and Helen Lardner, director of HLCD, as heritage advisor.
The winners were announced in a live broadcast on Friday 30 July 2021. Each category winner received a cash prize of $1,000 and a $5,000 prize was awarded to the winner of the Australian House of the Year.
The winners are:
Australian House of the Year
Three House – John Ellway Architect
New House over 200 m2 – joint winners
8 Yard House – Studio Bright
Federal House – Edition Office
New House under 200 m2
Three House – John Ellway Architect
House Alteration and Addition over 200 m2
Highgate Park House – Vokes and Peters
House Alteration and Addition under 200 m2
Annerley House – Zuzana and Nicholas
Apartment or Unit
Brunswick Apartment – Murray Barker with Esther Stewart
Garden or Landscape
8 Yard House – Studio Bright with Peachy Green
House in a Heritage Context – joint winners
SRG House – Fox Johnston
The Hat Factory – Welsh and Major
Sustainability
Night Sky – Peter Stutchbury Architecture
Emerging Architecture Practice – joint winners
Commendations
Houses Awards is organized by Architecture Media and supported by Cult, Artedomus, the Australian Institute of Horticulture, Blum, Bosch, Brickworks, the Heritage Council of Victoria, Sussex, Taubmans, and Latitude. See the full image galleries for the winning projects here.
