2019 National Architecture Awards: National Award for Interior Architecture

Jury citation

In the Bae Tas, an apartment with a tiny footprint located on the top floor of a 1970s walk-up block, Work by Liz and Alex has created a spatial richness and a remarkable interior.

Original walls have been removed to create a single larger living space, with all the necessary accessories of domestic life – bed, kitchen, bathroom and storage – completely concealed. The architects have found additional volume by making use of the existing roof space. Pitched ceiling planes, lit by a skylight, add a new scale dimension, fundamentally changing the experience of the space. The ceiling and walls are lined entirely in birch plywood and sit lightly upon a mute concrete floor plane. The singularity of material and balance of natural light imbue a strong sense of calm. The space transforms with the opening up of the bed and kitchen. The bathroom is other-worldly – a phenomenal top-lit space clad in glossy maroon tiles.

A close collaboration between the architect and the joiner is evident in the meticulous jointing of the plywood panels, the precise way the tiles are set out and the inventive door and joinery hardware. The Bae Tas provides a delightful and spatially diverse interior within a micro living environment.

The Bae Tas is located at Sandy Bay, Tasmania and is built on the land of the Muwinina and Palawa peoples.

— The Bae Tas was reviewed by Judith Abell in Houses 125.