2022 National Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)

Jury citation

Hobart’s Battery Point is full of charm and the 1830s Georgian bluestone cottage opposite a rather good bakery on Hampden Road has had an enduring connection to the community. The garden of Fusilier Cottage has long acted as a de facto public park, with many happily spending time under the shade of its gracefully aging sycamore tree.

The new addition by Bence Mulcahy is a glorious exercise in restraint and understanding of this heritage building in relation to the streetscape. The new timber pavilion sits exquisitely in the garden, with large sliding doors that enable the occupants to either embrace the crisp Hobart air or retreat to the warmth and privacy behind the timber screening.

Internally, the bluestone flooring connects with the original building and the timber cabinetry adds to the comfort and sense of modern permanence of this home.

With a light touch that is indicative of the inspired current trajectory of Tasmanian architecture, Fusilier Cottage presents as a thoughtful and delightful gift to those seduced by the romance of Battery Point. Come for sausage roll and stay for the architecture.

— Fusilier Cottage was reviewed by Judith Abell in Houses 143. Read the review here.

Project credits

Architect Bence Mulcahy; Project team Shamus Mulcahy, Sophie Bence, Bek Verrier, Dylan Rowbottom; Builder Thylacine Constructions; Engineer JMG Engineers and Planners; Building surveyor Lee Tyers Building Surveyors; Landscape consultant Fairy Wren Gardens and Design; Energy consultant RED Sustainability Consultants; Lighting consultant Casa Mondé Lighting Specialists

Fusilier Cottage is located at Battery Point, Tasmania on the land of the muwinina people of nipaluna.