With so many impressive residences built each year, winning Australian Home Of The Year is no mean feat, but in 2022 the Noosa-based property that took out the crown was more than deserving. Tucked away on the banks of the Noosa River at Witta Circle, the home draws inspiration from Brazilian modernism in its design, offering a cascading arrangement of flora that brings the tropical rainforest to the doorstep.
The property was built by Sunshine Coast’s JW Constructions and designed in partnership with Brisbane’s Shaun Lockyer Architects, taking a total of three years to complete. The five-bedroom home is predominantly concrete in its construction, but features a number of delightful design elements including an internal courtyard pool and glass-enclosed wine cellar.
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Set across three levels, the house features a lower basement level that sits below the waterline of the Noosa River, and contains the games room, family TV room, and climate-controlled wine cellar. On the ground entrance level boasts a second family TV room, as well as the main living and dining areas and the pool.
On the uppermost level is where you’ll find the five bedrooms, four bathrooms and the office that backs onto an outdoor balcony, further integrating a sense of nature into the building. This impression is also delivered thanks to the main construction materials of board-formed concrete and warmer tones in the timber detailing.
“The Sunshine Coast is on the same latitude as Rio and shares the same climatic conditions, being that it is sub-tropical,” explained the architect Shaun Lockyer Architects to Domain.
“The architecture of Brazil is characterised by singular, rational forms, usually built of stone and or concrete – or both. Our Witta House draws on this long and rich tradition with the confidence that the typology is climatically responsive and certainly enduring.”
Blending ideas of in and outdoor spaces, as well as evenly integrating inspiration from Brazilian modernism, there’s a lot to love about Witta House. It’s a truly stunning home that is a well-deserving winner of the 2022 HIA-CSR Australian Home of the Year award.
All images are credited to Christopher Frederick Jones Photography.
