2022 Houses Awards: New House over 200m²

Jury comment

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.

Integration with landscape is not only considered, but a key driver for the design. The building will disappear over time, at ease in its coastal setting, engulfed by a garden that will spill over and thread around its roof and courtyards. This home invites appreciation of both the surrounding environment and seasonal change.

Materials and detailing dematerialize the form. Weathering timber, Coldstream stone walls and recessed timber-framed glazing slip into the shadows. Moments of compression and release are built into the interiors, with curved walls that draw you in and expansive windows that open up, along with timeless and long-lasting materials and finishes that feel simultaneously familiar and unexpected.

This exceptional house elevates the homeowners’ experience of an already spectacular site, crafting spaces of surprise, warmth, drama and delight. The resolution of the architectural response, combined with fine interior detailing and careful integration with the landscape, set this home apart as a worthy winner.

For more coverage, read the project review by Marcus Baumgart.

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

Always is built on the land of the Boonwurrung people.

Project credits

Architect: Kennedy Nolan Project team: Patrick Kennedy, Rachel Nolan, Catherine Blamey, Adriana Hanna, Susannah Lempriere, Peter Cole Builder: Gaffcon Engineer: Webb Consult Landscape designer: Amanda Oliver