Regional Architecture Awards: Gold Coast houses hitting new design levels

THE city’s hottest houses have been crowned for their architectural innovation with a luxurious eco-friendly home and renovated cottage among the standouts.

The Gold Coast and Northern Rivers 2023 Australian Institute of Architects’ Regional Architecture Awards highlighted architects willing to think outside the box when it came to design.

Justin Humphrey Architects’ The Cottage was crowned the region’s house of the year.

In a cost-of-living crunch, the property at Burleigh Waters demonstrated great architectural bang for buck according to the judges.

The jury celebrated the renovated family home for its “modesty” noting the project “stands out in a city that has long favoured more muscular forms of development and the erasure of older houses”.

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Through downsizing the existing backyard pool, the architects created new, expanded space

for family life within the home.

Four new houses showcasing the best in Gold Coast and Northern Rivers living received recommendations in the new residential category.

They included Kingfisher House by PTMA Architecture, Cloudview by Paul Uhlmann Architects, Cypress by Shane Denman Architects, and Alcheringa by Robin Spenser Architects.

Kingfisher House, at Currumbin Waters, also received a commendation in the sustainable architecture category.

The residence was built with a clear mission — to show others how to build a sustainable luxury house.

The owners of the property, Sean Triner and Christiana Stergiou, bought the block in 2020 and tasked Peter McArdle of PTMA Architecture to come up with an energy efficient and carbon neutral home design.

“We just wanted to build this place to show what you can do if you put your mind to it in terms of sustainable building for a luxury house,” Mr Triner told the Bulletin earlier this year.

“It’s got all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a luxury Gold Coast family home but with a sustainable approach.”

They wanted sustainability to be a priority in the many choices they made throughout the build.

“We were asking ourselves what the carbon footprint of each particular thing was, did it create pollution, how did it sit with the flora and fauna, those types of things,” Mr Triner said.

“We wanted a design to minimise the amount of energy we used and to look beautiful and fit in with the countryside here.”

The end result is a modern five-bedroom two-bathroom home with a flexible design that can suit a wide range of people including multi-generational families.

Other projects acknowledged included medium density projects Mali Residences by BDA Architecture and Labrador Social Housing by Cox Architecture — both received commendations in the residential architecture multiple housing category.

Alongside new and altered residential architecture, interior and civic projects were also honoured.

272 Hedges Avenue Pedestal, by Contreras Earl Architecture, was awarded a commendation in the interior architecture category.

A commendation in the public architecture category went to the Gold Coast Recreation Centre by Cox Architecture while the people’s choice award winner was Cloudview by Paul Uhlmann Architects.

Pimpama Sports Hub, a multi-use sports facility, was crowned Building of the Year.

Liquid Blu and Place Design Group were behind the project that includes a state-of-the-art aquatic centre, eight tennis courts, 12 netball courts, a community playground, an outdoor event space with a natural amphitheatre, a community centre, and a fitness centre.

All of the region’s commended projects have been short-listed for the Australian Institute of Architects’ Queensland Architecture Awards.

The state awards will be announced on June 22.