2018 National Architecture Awards: National Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)

Jury citation

Embracing its subtropical setting, Gibbon Street by Cavill Architects was created as a series of staggered concrete platforms that are open to the outdoors on multiple sides, including a roof deck. The journey from the sunken living area at the front door to the floating sitting room – which hovers between an internal planted courtyard and the backyard – is a delightfully choreographed experience. This continues on the upper level, which is a reconfiguration of the original worker’s cottage, having been raised to insert the living spaces into the undercroft.

References to the rich Italian migrant history of Brisbane’s New Farm are apparent in the materiality of the alteration and addition and the exquisite and painstaking detailing in this house reflects the love and care you might expect from a son who is designing a home for his mother. Moments of architectural drama and delight, such as the Carlo Scarpa-esque sculptural skylight above the kitchen bench, punctuate the spaces. The robust materials give the impression that this home will age gracefully over time and that the garden, as it grows, might engulf it like a ruin.

The energy and excitement of a young architect are palpable in the design of this building. The result is refined and elegant residential architecture.

For more coverage, read Michelle Bailey’s project review from Houses 118.