Australian House of the year - Houses Awards 2017

Photography - Christopher Frederick Jones

Auchenflower House by Vokes and Peter

The Houses Awards 2017 have just been announced and we are absolutely blown away by the outstanding winners and finalists of all the categories. Over the next few weeks we will be showcasing some of the winners that we think you will love. 

The winner of Australian House of the Year was Auchenflower House by Vokes and Peter and we love it. It's a modest timber cottage that has been carefully modified and extended to accommodate a young family and orientate the building’s occupants towards the garden.

Jury citation from www.housesawards.com.au

"This project is distinguished by its deceptive simplicity. It is the result of the architecture practices sustained investigations into the Queensland vernacular, and the straightforward application and sensory qualities of utilitarian materials.

By identifying "the private house as a critical piece of city-making," the architects confer on this project a commonly missed role. In detail, the interpretation of the brief and site aligns with Fernando Tavoras idea that "each case is a case."

The architects siting strategy explores the potential of quiet suburban spaces and associations, apparent and real boundaries and notions of private and communal space.

The building forms, scale, plans, details, composition and sections acknowledge the suburban street-corner relationship, making beautiful connections with the carefully observed conditions of the site.

Auchenflower House offers an inventive model for working with traditional housing on suburban blocks and provides an intelligent and poetic paradigm for current practice."