The 2026 Houses Awards Winners Announced

Winner Australian House of the Year + House Alteration and Addition Over 200 Square Metres: Half Light House by John Ellway

John Ellway took home the title prize, Australian House of the Year, along with the House Alteration and Addition award for his work on a Brisbane timber cottage.

Responding to a desire for outdoor living, John added a transparent extension to the rear of the cottage, wrapped around a new pool.

Levels in the extension create distinct kitchen, living, dining, bedroom, and studio zones. These areas remain separate but are connected by views between each floor, feeling simultaneously intimate and expansive.

Winner Apartment or Unit + Emerging Architecture Practice: Apartment on The Loop by Billy Maynard Architects

This thoughtful NSW apartment renovation from Billy Maynard Architects — also named this year’s Emerging Architecture Practice — makes a once small top-floor apartment feel generous in size.

The team took advantage of the apartment’s floor position to install skylights, which fill the home with natural light.

The renovation minimally altered the existing floor plan, opting instead to conceal visual clutter through integrated storage and joinery, opening the space for attention to be drawn to views of the bay.

Joint Winner House in a Heritage Context: Borland Crossman House by WOWOWA Architecture

WOWOWA Architecture were named joint winners of the House in a Heritage Context award  for their careful adaptation of a ’70s modernist home by Australian postwar architect Kevin Borland.

The judges appreciated the team’s considered approach to renovating this home and sustaining its heritage significance, specifically their understanding of Borland’s original design, commending WOWOWA on their ability to strengthen the existing qualities of the home rather than replacing them with contemporary designs.

Repairs, upgrades and additions improved the home’s environmental impact and eliminated previous building issues while retaining and repairing its original brickwork, timber linings, parquetry flooring and iconic yellow kitchen.

Joint Winner House in a Heritage Context: The Homestead Renewal at Wybalenna by Taylor and Hinds Architects with The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania

The Homestead Renewal at Wybalenna by Taylor and Hinds Architects is a Victorian-era farmhouse, maid’s quarters and kitchen arranged around a brick courtyard, all set within the former Wybalenna Aboriginal Settlement on Flinders Island.

The restorative design considered the significance of the building’s site to Palawa people — as both an Aboriginal mission and a recognised site of genocide — and carefully removed layers to reveal deeper histories, positioning the building as a place of truth-telling and healing.

The process was completed using repurposed materials to align with the project’s environmental responsibility and care for Country.

Winner New House Under 200 Square Metres: EA House by Bokey Grant

Built directly into a rocky clifftop in the lush Southern Highlands of New South Wales, EA House by Bokey Grant Architecture is engulfed by nature, both in its striking architecture and warm timber interior.

A bridge paves the way to the entrance of this concrete and brickwork abode and offers breathtaking views of the highlands.

Bokey Grant designed the home to minimally impact the surrounding flora and fauna and considered the high bushfire rating of the area in its design.

The judges appreciate how EA House provides ‘an alternate approach to the lightweight tectonic often adopted for rural and ecologically significant sites.’

Winner House Alteration and Addition Under 200 Square Metres: Olaver Architecture for Gore St House

Renovating this Fitzroy terrace home was no easy feat for Olaver Architecture. To combat its lack of natural light, a double-height courtyard was placed in the centre of the home, bringing in bonus airflow.

From its exterior, this abode presents like any standard narrow terrace home, but stepping inside reveals split levels that create an atmospheric and generous space.

The judges praised how ‘these skilful moves defy the site’s dimensions, finding spatial inventiveness within a small footprint.’

Winner Sustainability: Gerroa House by Scale Architecture

Gerroa House by Scale Architecture is the definition of sustainable living, taking home this award for its thoughtful material use and long-term environmental impact.

The home has a low carbon footprint and is designed to be disassembled for future reuse, extending the life of its materials and reducing construction waste.

Its rooftop solar generation, along with natural ventilation design, means there is no need for mechanical heating and cooling systems.

Perhaps the most thoughtful part of the design is the home’s regenerative nature. The house is an active contributor to biodiversity and ecological repair, as the site was transformed with more than 2000 native plants and integrated a productive food forest.

Winner New House Over 200 Square Metres: Hislop Hill House by Clare Cousins Architects

Set on a block of post-war brick houses, Hislop Hill House’s square floor plan includes multiple courtyards, adding greenery to the home beyond its exterior gardens.

Clare Cousins Architects removed the front fence from the house, opting to share the garden with the street. The emphasis on the home’s surroundings follows in the series of terraced levels that lead down toward Hislop Hill Reserve.

The judges commended how the altered floor plan and connection to the landscape show what can be designed on a suburban site.

Winner Small Project: Magenta Outhouse by Atelier Marks Gaal

The jury refers to Magenta Outhouse as a ‘delightful small project’ that demonstrates how considered design can create meaningful human experiences.

The design contains a toilet, shower, basin and tub, creating a place for immersion in both body and nature.

The silhouette, perched like a bird of prey, sits unassuming on the landscape; its cleverly folded design is an example of the power of simplicity.