Brisbane bayside home wins Houses 2013 award A home on Brisbane's southern bayside has been named the 2013 Australian House of the Year by leading industry publication Houses. Judges praised Bisley Place House at Wakerley for embracing its surrounds and "creating opportunity where none seemingly existed." "It does not repudiate the 'Australian ugliness' context, but relies on the quintessential ordinariness of the streetscape to enrich the experience," the jury said. The building's architect, James Russell, described the award as a "complete surprise, especially being a fairly modest place in the 'burbs and the level of the competition." The annual Houses Awards recognise the best residential designs in Australia across nine categories, including heritage and sustainability. Russell, whose work also earned him the prize for New House over 200 square metres, said the design was intended to reflect both the functional needs of the young family that would call it home and landscape on which it sat. "It gets beautiful north-east breezes throughout the summer," explained Russell. We are able to engage with the outdoors in ways that other parts of Australia don't get the opportunity to do. Russell said he was particularly proud of the way the building had successfully mixed both street and private spaces. Large open-plan living areas frame an internal courtyard, bringing the outside in during the the warmer months. Those same spaces can also be closed to create cave-like retreats in winter. The home has a refined, industrial aesthetic; structural concrete slabs, glazed brickwork, with timber trusses are visible throughout. "They're simple materials, but they all work very hard," Russell said. The architect praised his clients for affording him considerable freedom during the design process. The initial brief was said to have been "clear, but short." They're also good listeners and thinkers, so we had a lot of discussions along the way about how they were prepared to live. Russell said he hoped the award encouraged others to be more adventurous in their designs. This, as a project in the outer suburbs, highlights what we do out there is relevant for architects and...is just outlining that there are alternatives to very large internal boxes. Russell received recognition on Thursday night at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, located in Melbourne's Federation Square.