2021 Houses Awards: New House under 200m²

Jury comment

Three House reposes easily in its treed, undulating inner-Brisbane suburban setting. It is without pomp or grandeur, yet beneath the surface lies a compelling logic. The 197-square-metre house is potentially three homes: a primary house, a studio and a granny flat or teenager’s retreat.

In its even striding over the site, the house establishes diverse outdoor spaces – using space to both separate and focus internal activities – while at the same time allowing passage for surface water flow down the site’s central landform, a gentle gully.

The house responds to the visual character code of the neighbourhood, which controls roof shape and verandah positions and dictates the use of lightweight timber detailing. A series of pyramid-roofed pavilions is rhythmically patterned without fuss, able to open and close to site opportunities and to momentary user responses to weather or privacy. Floor plates step to connect to the ground plane, establish undercrofts or frame different prospects.

Detailing is pared back; inventive yet traditional. Vertical sliding shutters give all enclosed spaces a verandah-like experience. This house breathes beautifully.

Built from low embodied energy materials, adaptable and affordable: this is an architecture we can all learn from. Three House is informal yet elegant, rambling yet constrained; an easy Australian house.

For more coverage, read the project review by Laura Harding in Houses 139.

The Award for New House under 200m² is supported by Artedomus. See full image galleries of all the winning and shortlisted projects here.

Three House is located in Brisbane, Queensland, built on the land of the Turrbal and Yuggera people.

Project credits

Architect: John Ellway Architect Project team: John Ellway Builder: PJL Projects Engineer: Westera Partners Landscape design: Studio Terrain Planning consultant: Bartley Burns Energy consultant: Esco Energy Solutions