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RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE - HOUSES (NEW)
ARCHITECTURE AWARD
sanctum and another room of the
house.
The protective roof forms defer
to the angles of the sun, allowing
entry of light deep into the house
and visual connections with
the surrounding built context,
including framed views of nearby
church spires. This is a home
crafted with great care, which
adopts a liberated informality
focused on the richness of daily
life. It is a home that genuinely
explores craftsmanship as an
inseparable part of the process of
architecture.
Nikki Maloneys’ is one of the
most refreshing approaches
to new houses seen this year.
Celebrating and conveying the
memory of a former worker’s
cottage that once occupied
the site, the house is entirely
new, yet crafted and inspired by
what was there before. In the
architects own words, this house
is the ‘remaking’ of a cottage,
where 30% of the building
matter has been recycled. It
is an example of successful
and sensitive integration of
architecture and building - an
approach that welcomes life,
decay, and rebirth.
Inside, the plan is spatially
and tectonically unguarded
and relaxed, and it is both
unassuming and generous to
the street. The house assumes
a c-shape by following three
boundaries of the site. In doing
so it creates its own nurturing
environment, with a protected
garden that feels like an inner
This house engages remarkably
with its surroundings, being
at once both intensely public
and intensely private. Built on a
sloping Sydney harbour site, it
presents as a striking concrete
sculpture to the street. As the
house lifts away from the site,
it frames a sculpture garden
where significant artworks are
positioned across the landscape.
Past this the eye is drawn through
bushland reserve of angophora
trees to the blue ocean horizon
of Balmoral Beach, and the iconic
Grotto Point Lighthouse. Looking
back to the street from the pool
offers another rich framed view,
where the house itself is the
exhibit’s stage curtain. The effect
is dramatic and extraordinary.
The joy of art is integral to the
house’s design, and the owners’
desire to share both their
collection and their view with the
street is embedded into the form.
A hierarchy in section places
public function on the ground,
with private above. The building’s
central space contains a gallery
which offers a counterpoint to
the expected, austere museum
space; instead offering an inviting
finished interior and low ceilings.
The main living room offers
respite and retreat, as a private
and comfortable sanctuary of
warm timber, carpet and soft
penetrating light. The architects
have understood the question of
“what is ‘home’ and for whom”.
Rigorous in resolution and
consistent on many levels,
Balmoral House chooses a palette
of severe constraint. Contrary
to the density of its material
form, it allows a rich pause in an
unyielding street alignment; an
open window that is generous
and dignified.
Photography: Brett Boardman
Photography: Brett Boardman
Nikki Maloneys
Drew Heath Architects
Balmoral House
Clinton Murray + Polly Harbison
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