The winners of the 2022 Houses Awards have been revealed!

Presented by Houses magazine, the Houses Awards is an annual program celebrating Australia’s best residential projects. Excellence is rewarded in nine categories, with the best house receiving the premier award of Australian House of the Year. 

Each year, the Houses Awards entries provide a unique insight into contemporary residential design and the contribution Australia’s architects and designers make to enhancing the way we live today. Entries are judged by a renowned panel of architects and designers who themselves are recognised for creating inspirational Australian homes.

Below we take a look at some of our favourite projects! For the full list of Award winners and commendations, head to the Houses Awards website. 

Australian House of the Year - Studio Bright for Autumn House

Jury Citation

Autumn House is a superbly executed update to a Victorian terraced house in Melbourne’s north. The design grapples with many of the problems that constrain alterations and additions to terraced houses and succeeds in establishing outlook, private outdoor space and a generosity to the public realm in a densely populated inner-suburban setting.

New House over 200 square metres - Kennedy Nolan for Always

Jury Citation

Spurning the idea that a coastal home should frame a single view, this house celebrates its dramatic coastal setting while also offering a beautifully warm and calming refuge. Recessive in the landscape, it “remembers” the form of the old house that once occupied the site while equipping it for long-term inhabitation and enjoyment.

New House under 200 square metres - Archier for Corner House

Jury Citation

Corner House is an elegant solution to a clear and compelling client brief. The house is driven in plan and section by the constraints of the site and the brief to allow for both independence and connection for two design professionals.

Deceptively simple in overall form, the courtyard as a figuring device was used less to carve space, and more to pare light. Extensive glazing coupled with compressed circulation spaces and carefully edited walls create a beautifully orchestrated sequence throughout the day and night as one moves through the house.

House in a Heritage Context - Bence Mulcahy for Fusilier Cottage

Jury Citation

Fusilier Cottage is a Georgian bluestone building with sandstone dressings built in the late 1830s. The state-heritage-listed property is a local landmark and a highly valued part of Hobart’s historic Battery Point. Through the addition of a new living pavilion, the architects have transformed the cottage to meet contemporary living and regulatory standards on a highly scrutinized site. The clever design exhibits both architectural restraint and generosity of spirit.  

Sustainability - Melbourne Design Studios (MDS) for The Hütt 01 Passivhaus

Jury Citation

This house sets a new standard for practical and measurable sustainability, delivering an oasis-like family home on a challenging site that aspires to both net-zero energy and carbon neutrality. With a rail corridor immediately adjacent to the site and a noisy road nearby, the building strategy was to counter the busy locale with high-performance fabric and systems. The finished project represents the opportunities of sustainable development over the sacrificial mindset that often ensues.