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

Jury citation

If there’s a simple project that deserves to be applauded, it’s this renovation and reconfiguration by Nielsen Jenkins of an unremarkable 1984 AV Jennings project home in the backblocks of the Gold Coast. Among the aging Commodores and struggling palm trees, this budget intervention creates elevated spaces within the existing footprint and opens the house toward a new covered courtyard that finally gives this home the connection to climate it deserves. This is everyday, accessible architecture that paves the way for our aging suburban housing stock to evolve sustainably.

Project credits

Architect Nielsen Jenkins; Project team Lachlan Nielsen, Morgan Jenkins, Kelsey Homer, Nicholas Russell, Laura McConaghy, Dan Saragusti; Builder A and J Building Group; Engineer Westera Partners; Landscape consultant Nielsen Jenkins; Town planner Place Design Group

Currumbin Waters House is located in Currumbin Waters, Queensland on the land of the Kombumerri people of the Yugambeh language group.