Australian House & Garden Reveal Winner Of Ideal House Comp!

Bauer Media’s Australian House & Garden magazine, in conjunction with project partner Mirvac and sponsors CSR Hebel, Myer, Quick-Step, Reece, Smeg, Taubmans and Viridian, is pleased to announce the winner of the My Ideal House competition – a landmark project to design, build and decorate a house that reflects the modern Australian way of life.

The winner of the inaugural design competition is Sydney architect Madeleine Blanchfield, whose design was praised by the expert judging panel for its brilliant planning, affordability and respect for the environment and neighbours.

Australian House & Garden editor in chief Lisa Green said of the winning design: “The My Ideal House competition was conceived to generate a timely discussion about how we can build and live more sustainably, how to create community without sacrificing privacy and how good design can nurture families through every life stage.

“Madeleine has produced a home design that sets a new blueprint for the Australian suburban home, meeting all the needs of a family and leaving plenty of space to enjoy the indoor-outdoor lifestyle we love.

“She is a worthy winner, from a strong set of finalists, and a deserving recipient of the $25,000.”

The innovative competition was launched in February by NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes and has exceeded all expectations, with more than 80 submissions received and interest from many quarters.

“We were thrilled by the enthusiasm shown by the design community and the truly innovative ideas that were presented,” Green added. “We had a shortlist of six terrific finalists and each of them had sufficient merit to win this competition.”

The winning design will be built at CREST by Mirvac at Gledswood Hills, in the south-west growth corridor of Sydney that lies in the Camden LGA, with profits from the sale going to charity. The build cost of the house is likely to range from $280,000 with a land cost of approximately $365,000.

Mirvac general manager design, sales and marketing, Diana Sarcasmo, said the winning design would win favour with the ultimate judges – future home buyers.

“This is a home we feel confident our customers would love to live in. It offers everything that we know families value in a home. Its cleverness lies in its modular form, which can be adapted for a number of different sites and orientations. We are looking forward to offering the design to our customers at CREST.”

Winning architect Madeleine Blanchfield added: “The design we presented is 100 per cent based on good planning. The fact that we came in on budget is a testament to design being about spaces and how they come together and not about covering the walls in gold.”

Her solution involves a modular form that can be easily adapted four ways depending on site orientation. With a two storey street frontage and bedrooms on the upper level, living is contained within a single-storey pavilion connected to the outdoor space. This approach ensures living areas enjoy northern light, privacy is maintained and there is no overshadowing of neighbouring homes.

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styledby marie claire The Edge