More than 40 architectural projects were commended at a prestigious awards show on Friday night, with four winners announced to celebrate their excellence in the field.
The Greater Brisbane Regional Architecture Awards, run by the Australian Institute of Architects, gave 11 commendation awards to 42 projects across the area, with four projects receiving standout prizes at the show.
The John Dalton Award for Building of the Year went to Blok Three Sisters: a unique modular building built and shipped to Stradbroke Island for the three sisters the project was named after.
In collaboration with architects Vokes & Peters, Blok Modular created three identical homes for the siblings on a site where they had holidayed at as children.
Blok Three Sisters, designed by Blok Modular with Vokes & Peters, won the John Dalton Award for Building of the Year at the Greater Brisbane Regional Architecture Awards.
The designers said building modular homes such as these meant the skills and models could be applied to social housing throughout Brisbane.
Daniel Burnett, owner and director of Blok Modular, said the project needed to suit each of the three sisters, along with each of their children and grandchildren.
“We tested lots of different ideas on how you would arrange three dwellings on this site that would give everyone equitable access to the beach,” he said. “We eventually landed on a terrace house diagram, which allowed each of the sisters have a critical access to ocean and be basically unaware of each other being there.”
He added that the end result represented a model that could be used in other applications such as social housing.
“It was a way to control cost, time and quality,” he said. “It is a thrill to be recognised in this esteemed architectural company.”
Sydney House in New Farm, designed by Cavill Architects, was named House of the Year that night.
The home had to meet the challenge of building on a heritage listed property while still creating its own identity.
Vokes & Peters director and architect Stuart Vokes said when collaborating with Blok Modular, the two created homes with modular qualities they’d never thought they’d be making.
“It’s really exciting to be building in that space,” he said. “The whole idea that you can visit your building during construction in a shed, and then it arrives on-site, and it’s predominantly pre-finished – it’s pretty fantastic.”
“[Clients] have an appetite for talking about projects that are small, agile or sustainable, that kind of challenge the status quo … we need a market that comes willing to talk about these things, not simply demand big houses with lots of space and extra rooms.”
St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School Sports Performance Centre, designed by Blight Rayner Architects, received Regional Project of the Year.
Judges said the project was crafted with a “restrained elegance”, using affordable materials throughout.
Cavill Architects received the 2025 House of the Year Award for their work on Sydney House, located in New Farm.
The home underwent a transformation that still needed to keep key elements of the heritage-listed dwelling, making a distinct new look that judges called “skilfully crafted and highly considered”.
Meanwhile, the Regional Project of the Year went to St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School Sports Performance Centre, designed by Blight Rayner Architecture.
The project, built as a new facility for the students, was asked to tackle challenges such as “master planning, flood mitigation, structural optimisation, futureproofing, natural ventilation and landscape integration”, according to the judges.
Using affordable materials throughout the construction, judges said the Corinda-based project was detailed with a “restrained elegance” that also gave them a commendation for Educational Architecture that night.
Somerset Indooroopilly Retirement Community was recognised with The Lord Mayor’s Brisbane Buildings that Breathe Architecture Prize, closing out the winners for the night.
The project featured a variety of elder-friendly spaces that judges considered to be at an excellent standard.
Finally, Somerset Indooroopilly Retirement Community received The Lord Mayor’s Brisbane Buildings that Breathe Architecture Prize.
COX Architecture took charge of the project, featuring wide-spanning views and elder-friendly walking spaces throughout the curated landscape. Judges hailed the community as an excellent example of retirement living design during the awards.
Each of these four projects also received commendations in other areas throughout the awards ceremony. All 42 buildings have now been short-listed for the upcoming Queensland Architecture Awards in June, thanks to their acknowledgments on Friday.
English (US) · 