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Tiny, but mighty, house on 30sq m wins national architecture award

A unique house with a tiny 30sq m footprint (about the size of a hotel room) has won the 2023 Robin Boyd Award from the Australian Institute of Architects.ย 

Sydney architect Adam Haddow’s firm, SJB, designed the home in Surry Hills with an internal 69sq m of space in what was originally a corner shop with a residence upstairs.

The building was re-purposed as a retail space and residential unit, with a new multi-storey dwelling added at the rear.

The 1.5-bedroom home โ€œcasts off the tired notion of what a city home should look likeโ€, Mr Haddow told the SMH.

19 Waterloo St, Surry Hills. Photo: Anson Smart

The facade used broken bricks left over from Phoenix Central Park by Wardle and Durbach Block Jaggers. 

While the bathroomโ€™s marble and tiles were a bargain, because nobody else liked them, Mr Haddow said.

19 Waterloo St, Surry Hills. Photo: Anson Smart

He said this approach is an example of the conceptual framework โ€“ programmatic diversity, density and opportunity have been increased while a once-blank streetscape has been revitalised.

โ€œUltimately the project is about sustainability, doing more with less, reusing a site, reusing materials and better using an existing well-connected place,โ€ Mr Haddow said.

19 Waterloo St, Surry Hills. Photo: Anson Smart

The award is one of the top honours in Australian architecture and the jury said given the state of the housing market, architects are forced to design homes that are highly functional, whimsical and utterly full of joy, both inside and out.

Mr Haddowโ€™s 1.5-bedroom home reflected a trend in the instituteโ€™s awards away from larger homes to those that are more sustainable.

19 Waterloo St, Surry Hills. Photo: Anson Smart

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Rowan Crosby

Rowan Crosby is a senior journalist at Elite Agent specialising in finance and real estate.