Australian houses shortlisted in WAF and Inside awards

Five Australian houses have been shortlisted in the Inside World Festival of Interiors, while another homegrown abode has made the shortlist at the World Architecture Festival.

Shortlisted in Inside's single dwelling category is 123 House by Neil Cownie Architect, a Perth project that takes inspiration from the Ampol petrol station once owned by the clients on the same site. Detailed concrete projections and laser cut cantilevered shelving reference the Ampol logo, while coloured glass references the colours of petrol and engine oil. "The design seeks to make the interior sit comfortably in the suburb as though this building has been born from its surroundings, overlaid with the client's connection to the site and their own heritage," a design statement reads.

Also on the shortlist is 19 Waterloo Street by SJB, which is in contention in Australia's National Architecture Awards as well. Designed as lead architect Adam Haddow's own home, 19 Waterloo Street has a footprint of only 30 square metres. It features a playful "Jacques Tati-esque" facade of recycled and broken brick.

"Ultimately, it's about sustainability, doing more with less, reusing a site, reusing materials, and better using an existing connected place," state the architects.

Sydney firm Carter Williamson Architects has two houses on the shortlist: Rosso Verde in the inner-Sydney suburb of Camperdown, and Wurrungwuri, on a steep waterfront site in Birchgrove.

Within the shell of an old warehouse, Rosso Verde trades interior space for a courtyard, which gives the house its clearly defined, rational plan. "Rosso Verde does not follow the typical industrial precedent set for warehouse conversions, often leaning into cold industrial aesthetics," the architects state. "Instead, we opted for an interior narrative that used a combination of earthy tones and textural materials to create warmth while celebrating the warehouse bones of the building in a sophisticated and elevated way."

With Wurrungwuri, Carter Williamson has delivered a crafted addition that respects the heritage of the existing colonial sandstone cottage while embracing the harbour site. "Rather than sitting boundary to boundary, Wurrungwuri gives back to community with a view to the harbour beyond from the street, restoring the connection to place," the architects state.