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Brisbane couple Annie and Jim bought their 1920s timber cottage in 2008, but 10 years later, it was too small for their growing family with three small kids. They also wanted a swimming pool.
“We knew we wanted the pool to be undercover so we didn’t have to mess about with sunscreen and rashies every time the kids wanted a swim,” the couple told this masthead via email.
“We also didn’t want to expand the house’s footprint much, as we didn’t want to reduce the green space.”
They ended up with an extension built around a pool that uses transparent walls to open the back of the house up to views of hills to the west.
Now “Half Light House”, in the northern Brisbane suburb of Clayfield, has been named Australian House of the Year, as well as winning for best House Alteration and Addition Over 200 Square Metres, in the Houses Awards 2026.
Organised by Houses magazine, the awards celebrate the creativity of Australian architects and designers in shaping the future of residential design.
They are judged by a panel of top architects chaired by the magazine’s editor, Alexa Kempton.
“Rather than building homes that are much larger than occupants need or building to the extremities of the block, architects have instead embraced the surrounding landscapes and minimised the impact of the home on the site,” Kempton said.
“What we really enjoy observing in Brisbane houses is when architects and designers preserve the qualities already there and then update them for modern life without just building more.”
Brisbane architect John Ellway has taken the awards’ top accolade for the second time, having won in 2021 for a Paddington house built on three platforms.
Ellway said the Half Light House design hinged on the pool.
“People are safety conscious with pools, and the clients wanted to be able to overlook and see their kids from nearly every room,” he said.
A covered outdoor patio provides a space for entertaining, and a void above the pool is open to the sky.
“There’s this beautiful, dappled reflection on most of the ceilings at different times of the day,” Ellway said.
Management of the intense afternoon sun was another consideration. The original house was designed to be closed off at the back; Ellway’s extension controls the light with a simple system of blinds.
“It’s a beautiful outlook to the west, and they get this amazing light around dusk,” he said.
Annie and Jim said now that the rear of the house was open, they could enjoy the sunset from almost everywhere in the house, “even as you’re walking through the front gate”.
“When we wake up in the morning and open the sliding glass doors above the pool, with the sun shining in and the trees just outside, it feels like we’re on holiday.”
Kempton said the house replicated a backyard pool experience without sacrificing green space.
Ellway collaborated with garden designer Andrew Coates to incorporate a native verge garden, a shady undercroft garden, hard-wearing planting in the driveway that can handle being driven over, and a backyard miniature forest.
“Often we can get caught up thinking that the garden is an afterthought or something that happens once the house is designed, and John’s approach is very different,” Kempton said.
“Excellent architecture in Brisbane at the moment is thinking about how you can live outdoors and enjoy the climate, rather than feeling that you need to build a fortress.”
Other Houses Awards 2026 winners came from New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
Awards were given to houses, apartments, renovations, small projects, heritage projects, and an emerging architectural practice.
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Nick Dent is a Culture Reporter at Brisbane Times, covering arts, entertainment and things to do in the city.Connect via email.From our partners
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