SJB’s evening at the NSW Architecture Awards was a resounding success, with the practice bringing home two awards in the residential and commercial categories.

The firm’s design for 19 Waterloo Street (pictured below) took out The Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture, the highest honour in the Residential Architecture - Houses (New) category, while Yirranma Place (pictured top) received an award in Commercial Architecture, as well as a commendation in Interior Architecture.

The Jury says that 19 Waterloo Street “challenges thinking about what is a home.” 

“This building is a jewel box of experimentation. Every inch of space has been meticulously detailed to create a home that is joyful and inventive, and lovingly tailored to the lifestyle of all three of its occupants including a little window for the dog, Eric.”

SJB has paid tribute to builders Promena Projects, suppliers Krause Briggs and artists Nicholas Harding, Mika Utzon Popov and Kate Bergin who assisted in making the project a reality.

Yirranma Place’s Jury citation reads as follows.

“(Yirranma Place) is an exemplar of lovingly reimagined adaptive reuse intertwined with a social purpose and First Nations art. Restored and reinvented, Yirranma Place has returned a private residence within a heritage listed 1920s church back to a wider community.”

Partnering with Cornerstone Property Group to deliver the project, SJB thanked Paul Ramsay Foundation, Mainbrace Constructions, Black Beetle and Uncle Badger Bates for assisting in the restoration of the 1920s building.

Australian Institute of Architects NSW Chapter President and SJB Director Adam Haddow says he is delighted with the accolades received by the practice. 

“I am incredibly proud of the cultural, economic, and societal contribution architects and architecture make to the state of NSW,” he says. 

“The awarded projects not only help us make sense of a complex world, but they deliver beauty, delight and joy.”

All award winners from the NSW Architecture Awards, including SJB’s winners, will now progress to the National Architecture Awards program.