Hawthorn House

Multi-generational living woven through courtyards and a translucent upper veil.

A finely composed suburban residence orchestrating alternating rooms and courtyards, robust materials and a translucent first-floor skin to support adaptable, multi-generational living with seamless indoor-outdoor connections.

Hawthorn House was conceived as a future-ready, multi-generational home on a narrow suburban plot. The brief prioritised flexibility, dignity for ageing family members and energetic daily life for all ages. The plan sets up a gentle sequence of rooms and landscaped courts that enable both togetherness and retreat, so different routines can comfortably coexist. A clear circulation spine and calibrated sightlines choreograph movement and connection without sacrificing privacy or calm.

At ground level, dark metal-clad volumes anchor the living spaces, while a continuous concrete surface flows from pool terrace to kitchen, creating durable, low-maintenance thresholds. Integrated joinery and built-in elements reduce visual noise and support accessibility. Above, a lighter first-floor volume is wrapped in a veil of perforated and solid metal panels tuned for daylight, privacy and thermal moderation; by night it becomes a soft lantern. Double-height voids and screened terraces stitch the levels together, drawing dappled light deep into the plan.

The outcome is an adaptable, resilient interior architecture that maximises a constrained site, strengthens connections to landscape and supports ageing in place. Robust finishes and self-supporting cladding emphasise longevity and material efficiency, aligning budget discipline with sustainability. Judges praised the serene geometry, honest palette and compelling composition of rectangular volumes appropriate for multi-generational living, while a few wished for greater warmth and more interior coverage. Overall, the project advances a model of quiet, purposeful sophistication with clear long-term value.

The judges said: “A pure geometric approach that does not disappoint in the transformation with light and color”