An anti-monolith home that draws inspiration from Jorn Utzon’s fifth façade theory has beaten a formidable field to win the Eleanor Cullis-Hill Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) at the 2015 National Architecture Awards.

Once described as both a village and a home, Tower House by Andrew Maynard Architects involved the extensive renovation of a red brick and dark painted weatherboard house into a row of small structures that border a massive courtyard garden.

The project was placed ahead of a strong field of Alterations & Additions projects which included Local House by MAKE Architecture, Orama by Smart Design Studio and Walter Street Terrace by David Boyle Architect.

View the full list of winning projects from the 2015 National Architecture Awards here.

Read the full jury citation for Local House by Andrew Maynard Architects and see the other awarded projects in the Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) category below:

Eleanor Cullis-Hill Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) – Tower House by Andrew Maynard Architects (Vic)

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Photography by Peter Bennetts

Jury Citation: Inserted deftly into a suburban streetscape, the playful additions and alterations of the Tower House are a surprisingly comfortable and delightful fit. From the street, the project’s defining tall-shingled ‘tower’ can be seen alongside the renovated weatherboard cottage. As the site opens up towards the rear laneway, a distinctive character is revealed through a series of added pavilions, each possessing an apparently childlike silhouette of a house. Each of the profiles of the little pavilion ‘houses’ is skilfully manipulated to turn a low-scale and well-finished face to the southern neighbour whose boundary the new buildings hug. This generous approach to the neighbourhood extends to the rear laneway, where a sunny, north-facing garden invites neighbours to engage.

The playful external pavilion forms reveal themselves internally through elegantly detailed skylights and a charming menagerie of domestic-scaled volumes. Diverse living zones have been provided with no hint of the disjuncture that might have been anticipated, all made right by the harmonious choice of materials and the skilful resolution of junctions between forms and finishes. There’s a timber-lined and book-lined study with its floor below ground level. Here one can look out at the level of flowers. Another highlight is the netted floor of the tall tower, where parents and children can escape and enter another world, suspended and cushioned with a framed view of the rear garden. It’s an absolute delight. This project demonstrates how the talents of the architect can deliver on a client’s ambition to be a positive influence in their community.

OTHER AWARDS

Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) – Local House by MAKE Architecture (Vic)

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Photography by Peter Bennetts

Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) – Orama by Smart Design Studio (NSW)

Photography by Sharrin Rees

Commendation for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) – Walter Street Terrace by David Boyle Architect (NSW)

Nathan Johnson

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