Prefab house ferried to island by night wins top award
The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane.
The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable.
The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter.
Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry.
The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am.
The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night.
The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build.
The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings.
"You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said.
"You're completely immersed in this environment."
The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away.
The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands.
"Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett.
A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres.
A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres.
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A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. 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The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres. A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres. A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres. A prefabricated house ferried to its island location by barge in the middle of the night has won a national architecture award. The Australian House of the Year in the 2025 Houses Awards has gone to a project that's actually three homes in one, a design named Blok Three Sisters, on North Stradbroke Island, off the coast of Brisbane. The development had to accommodate three sisters in their 60s, as well as their children and grandchildren after their much-loved 1970s holiday house was infested with mycelium and became uninhabitable. The designers had to avoid the possibility of sibling rivalry over which residence was closest to the beach and settled on a terrace with a central courtyard area, so the three houses are able to function as one big holiday home at Christmas and Easter. Building on the island is expensive due to a lack of local tradies and the cost of transporting materials from the mainland, so the project was constructed in a Brisbane factory over six months and delivered to the island in six modules via ferry. The builders hired an island car barge over two nights from midnight till 4am and had to be finished in time for the barge to resume its usual daily duties at 6am. The hours weren't great but it was enough time for two semi-trailers carrying giant sections of the building (the biggest measuring 15 metres long) to make three trips across each night. The sections were then put in place on the site near Home Beach over two days, with prefabrication offsite making the building process about 50 per cent faster than a traditional build. The architecture is an example of "stealth density" according to Blok Modular director Daniel Burnett: seen from the front, the three homes are the same height and width as the old house, while each part of the building opens out to its surroundings. "You've got this sense that you're just sitting in a little bathing shack on the dunes," he said. "You're completely immersed in this environment." The project was an emotional one for the three sisters, whose parents built the original house and have since passed away. The siblings are more than pleased with the finished product, while prefabricating the house on the mainland also meant the construction process was easier on the coastal ecosystem, including the nearby wetlands. "Building traditionally on a site like this, all of the pollution and toxicity and noise and rubbish, all of those impacts of construction were taken away from the site and put into a purpose built factory in Brisbane that was designed to handle those things," said Burnett. A cabin built on stilts amongst gum trees, Sawmill Treehouse in Victoria by designer Robbie Walker, was named best New House Under 200 Square Metres. A vine-wrapped suburban Melbourne home, Hedge and Arbour House by Studio Bright, won New House Over 200 Square Metres.
