Jury citation
At a time when our country faces a once-in-a-generation housing crisis, we are in dire need of new approaches. Most importantly, perhaps, we need to move beyond the Australian tradition of the four-bedroom, standalone house being our only residential offering. By casting off the tired notion of what a city home looks like, we’re left at liberty to create homes in the spaces in between and, in so doing, to create homes that are highly functional, whimsical and utterly full of joy both inside and out.
19 Waterloo Street is a spectacular example of a new approach to urban infill. Constructed on the 30 square metres left between a new mixed-use building (a studio apartment and commercial tenancy) and an existing factory, the home shows how hard architecture can work, even on a small footprint. From the moment it comes into view, the home announces itself as something different. Full of colour, the facade disguises the program within, allowing an element of privacy balanced by a sense of generosity to the public street. All the required elements of home are present, with each opening off the central stair. Entry, workspace, kitchen, living and bedroom all have their own character and charm. Each is also light and radiates an overwhelming impression of space and connection to greenery that is not easily achieved within such a hard, industrial fabric. The culmination of the upwards journey is a rooftop garden that provides that final, much-loved element of the Australian home. No function was jettisoned in the small footprint, and the space is successful as a home for two, or as a space to welcome gatherings.
The construction was powered by solar panels on the adjoining building, and the chosen materials include those rejected by others as imperfect. Although it is not observable (beyond the dwelling’s interior quietness), the design is built to a high level of thermal performance and airtightness. The final building presents a space full of joy and life that provides its inhabitants with the ultimate in efficient, healthy housing.
19 Waterloo Street is located in Surry Hills, New South Wales, on Gadigal Country, and was reviewed by Anthony St John Parsons in Architecture Australia July/August 2023.
Project credits
Architect: SJB; Project team: Adam Haddow, Stewart Cowan; Builder: Promena Projects; Mechanical, electrical and hydraulic engineer: Centric Engineers; Structural engineer: Van der Meer Consultants; Landscape architect: Dangar Barin Smith; Town planner: SJB Planning; Brick supplier: Krause Bricks.
