2025 Queensland Architecture Award Winners Announced

The following nine houses have won the top awards at the recently announced Australian Institute of Architects Queensland Awards. The awards celebrate the best of Queensland’s architecture in a state renowned for its innovative housing design.

Niwa House
Niwa House has received the Elina Mottram Award for Residential Architecture in the Houses (Alterations and Additions) category. Designed by John Ellway, the jury commended the project in Brisbane’s Highgate Hill as a reimagined timber cottage that reconnects with its landscape after more than a century. The jury said the home’s use of natural airflow and solar power helps the owners live comfortably, as if they were off-grid.

Mapleton House
Mapleton House has been awarded the Robin Dods Award for Residential Architecture in the Houses (New) category. Designed by Atelier Chen Hung, the home is designed to suit its location on the border between suburbia and the countryside. Set within the Sunshine Coast hinterland, the house looks out to Mount Ninderry and Mount Coolum. Its twin zinc-clad pavilions are pushed low into the slope to preserve these views.

​​Four Dwellings on 800m2
Four Dwellings on 800m2 has won the Jobs & Froud Award for Residential Architecture in the Multiple Housing category. Designed by Clare Design and located at Palm Beach, the project comprises four residential dwellings on an 800m2 site including a duplex, a house, and a granny flat that can comfortably accommodate up to 20 people. The jury commended Four Dwellings on 800m2 as “an exploration of gentle density and intergenerational living”, demonstrating how smart design can create joyful, spacious living without the need for oversized homes.

Blok Three Sisters
Blok Three Sisters has received an award for Residential Architecture in the Multiple Housing category. Designed by Blok Modular in collaboration with architects Vokes & Peters, the home is a sophisticated example of prefabricated housing. Nestled on Point Lookout, Stradbroke Island, the pale blue and white modular structure rests on timber deck foundations among established native trees. Judges noted that “the unconventional prefabricated terrace house model provides privacy and community and sits comfortably within a relaxed island setting”. Blok Three Sisters proves that prefabricated housing, a construction method where most of the house is built off-site, can be both beautiful and efficient. This housing type can be integrated into Brisbane’s suburban landscape, including backyard sites, to offer a flexible solution to housing needs.

Somerset Indooroopilly Retirement Community
COX Architecture’s Somerset Indooroopilly Retirement Community has also received an Award for Residential Architecture in the Multiple Housing category. Integrated with the Indooroopilly Golf Club, the project supports dignified ageing by prioritising accessibility, sustainability and community connection. The judges hailed the project as setting a new standard for independent living.

Floating Gable House
Floating Gable House has received an Award for Residential Architecture in the Houses (New) category. Designed by Phorm architecture + design, the new home on the family’s former tennis court was built adjacent to their long-held Queenslander. Located in Brisbane’s Clayfield, Floating Gable House cleverly references both the Queenslander architecture tradition and Asian longhouses style.

Cooroy House
Cooroy House has also received an Award for Residential Architecture in the Houses (New) category. Designed by Henry Bennett and Dan Wilson, the modest, off-grid home takes cues from the surrounding timber and tin cottages of the Cooroy area. Nestled in Noosa’s hinterland, the single-storey house is raised on a single platform and composed of a series of pavilions and courtyard gardens connected by a long verandah. The jury applauded the Cooroy House as “a thoughtful, well-crafted home that provides a calm, enduring and liveable sanctuary for its owners”.

Gold Creek
Gold Creek, a home in Brookfield, was also the recipient of an Award for Residential Architecture in the Houses (New) category. The house is the first built project in Queensland by Pritzker Prize winning architect Glenn Murcutt who collaborated with architect Brian Steendijk during the design phase. The 100sqm three bedroom residence includes timber ceilings and large sliding doors that frame treetop and mountain views.

Sydney House
Sydney House in New Farm has received an Award for Residential Architecture in the Houses (Alterations and Additions) category, and an Award for Heritage. Designed by Cavill Architects, the heritage-listed dwelling has been transformed into a generous family home. Managing small lot constraints, heritage constraints and the home’s inner-city context, the architects delivered a design that complements the fabric of the house without mimicking its original style.