Architecture

The winners of the 2025 Architeam Awards have been named, with the winning and commended projects demonstrating that “small practice architects continue to lead through creativity, empathy and purpose.” More

The winners of the 18th annual Architeam Awards have been named, celebrating the innovation, creativity and vision of Australia’s small practice architects.
A media communique from Architeam noted, “This year’s winners showcased a refined and confident use of materials, a deep understanding of their clients’ needs, and a sensitive appreciation for heritage and place.”
This was exemplified in Public Realm Lab’s Meeniyan Community Hub, which claimed the Architeam Medal and took out the Community and Public Award. The project, which involved replacing a building that was no longer fit-for-purpose with a new precinct for community meetings, was praised by the jury “as a new benchmark for how small-town architecture can deliver lasting civic value.”
This year’s just included Michael Roper (Architecture Architecture, AT Member and chair), Thomas Bailey (Room 11), Jemima Retallack (Retallack Thompson Architects), Anita Panov (Panov Scott), Andrew Steele (Studio Nine), Monique Woodward (Wowowa), Andrew Klenke (Swanbury Penglase Architects), Clémence Carayol (Architecture and Design digital editor) and Wesley Spencer (Architeam Awards director). In 2025, the program also included a new Heritage Award.
Reflecting on this year’s awards, Spencer said: “The calibre of projects this year proves that small practice architects continue to lead through creativity, empathy and purpose. These awards celebrate not just beautiful design, but the meaningful impact small practices have on our communities and the built environment.”
The winners are:
Architeam Medal
Winner
Meeniyan Community Hub – Public Realm Lab
Sustainability Medal
Winner
Subtle Shift – Steffen Welsch Architects
Small Project Medal
Winners
East West Play Structure – Pop Architecture
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well
Residential New Award – up to $1 million
Winner
Sorrento Bathhouse – Davidov Architects
Commendation
Horsham House – Jake Taylor Architecture

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Residential New Award – above $1 million
Winner
The Boulevard – Archier
Commendations
Point Lonsdale House – Field Office Architecture
Taroona House – Archier

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Residential Alterations and Additions – up to $500,000
Winner

Treeview Cottage – Tsai Design
Commendations

North Melbourne Terrace – Birthisel Wittingslow Architects
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well

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Residential Alterations and Additions – between $500,000 and $1 million
Winner
Oval House – Topology Studio
Commendation
Coburg House – Card

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Residential Alterations and Additions – over $1 million
Winner
Yarraville Peak – Weaver and Co Architects
Commendation
The Don – Mihaly Slocombe

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Commercial Award
Winner
BVIA on Bank – Agius Scorpo Architects
Commendation
Kastex Studio – Format Architects

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Community and Public Award
Winner
Meeniyan Community Hub – Public Realm Lab
Commendations
East West Play Structure – Pop Architecture
Syndal South Primary School – WHDA

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Heritage Award
Winner
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well
Commendation
Yarraville Peak – Weaver and Co Architects

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Innovation and Contribution Award
Winner
Placemaking Clarence Valley – Equity Office
People’s Choice Award
Winner
This is Lumeah – featuring Paul Couch – Pepper and Well

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Unbuilt Award
Winner

Three-Fold – Steffen Welsch Architects
Passivhaus Scholarship
Winner
Matthew Oczkowski of MOA Studio More

The initial 10 train station precincts have been prioritised for the development of higher density housing through streamlined planning processes. More

The Western Australian government has declared 10 train station precincts that will be subject to “improvement plans and schemes” by the state, designed to drive housing development in metropolitan Perth.
The 10 stations are the first to be prioritised by the government, with precincts defined as the land within an 800-metre radius of each train station. According to the government’s media release, the reforms will establish the state as the body that sets the height and zoning density settings within these precincts, as well as act as the responsible decision-maker.
The government’s hope is that the precincts will “boost urban infill,” “unlock more land for housing around transport hubs” and “enhance consistency in planning and decision-making.”
The first ten stations to be selected include:

Ballajura
Bassendean
Carlisle/Oats Street
Claisebrook
Cottesloe
Glendalough
Morley
Mosman Park
Redcliffe
Swanborne.

Planning and Lands Minister John Carey commented that “while some councils have done great work and embraced a reform agenda, many have lacked the ability, the will or both to drive the change we need to get more housing out the door.”
“We are stepping in to ensure a consistent and streamlined approach to deliver vibrant, mixed-use precincts within walking distance to train stations,” he said. “These precincts will supercharge the delivery of more supply in targeted locations.”
The government’s media release notes, “Consistent and coordinated planning frameworks are key to realising the full potential of transit-oriented development and increasing density in high-amenity areas.
“Consultation with local governments will help to inform context specific precinct planning. This process will ensure that development complements the character of each precinct and delivers greater housing diversity.”
A similar approach is already underway in Victoria, with 60 activity centres slated for planning reforms that will come into effect next year. In New South Wales, faster approvals and amended planning controls are being implemented across 37 transport-oriented development (TOD) precincts, and eight priority high-growth areas have been designated for accelerated rezoning.
Western Australia’s deputy premier and Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti said the government’s approach builds on the delivery of Perth’s Metronet rail network upgrade. The Metronet upgrade has seen several architects contribute to its design, including Hassell, which delivered five new elevated stations, and Woods Bagot in collaboration with Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick, TCL and UDLA on the Morley-Ellenbrook line, which recently won the Australian Institute of Architects 2025 National Award for Sustainable Architecture.
“Our government is focused on driving transit-oriented development to support vibrant communities, and these reforms will help streamline approvals and improve consistency,” said Saffioti. “More housing choice around our train station precincts will be critical to supporting our city as it grows, and implementing these improvement plans will ensure we expedite the delivery of new developments for the benefit of the community.”
The current series of ArchitectureAu Asks, which tackles the rise of high-density housing, invites experts to respond to the provocation, “When it comes to apartment towers in our suburbs, how high is too high?” Read their responses here. More

The Australian Institute of Architects’ Victorian chapter has awarded fellowships and prizes to architects, students and allied professionals. More

The Australian Institute of Architects’s Victorian chapter has celebrated the recipients of the state’s suite of prizes, honours and fellowships in their 2025 Victorian Honours, held on 17 November at the State Library of Victoria. The annual event celebrates the important contributions of the Institute’s members across the built environment while advancing the policy and advocacy work of the Institute.
This year, the highest honour – the Victorian President’s Prize – was awarded to Sarah Buckeridge. Having served as co-managing director at Hayball for the past 19 years, Buckeridge has been at the practice for 28 years, where she has honed a focus on the feasibility and design of residential and mixed-use developments.
With her interests geared towards creating well-designed, sustainable communities, Buckeridge has engaged with several industry peak bodies and government agencies to promote design-led policy that aims to improve the built environment. The honour recognises Buckeridge’s contribution to the profession and provides a platform for her continued advocacy of architecture.
The winners are:
President’s Prize
Sarah Buckeridge
Robert Caulfield Graduate Research Scholarship
Winner
Blake Hillebrand and Nathan Brandrick
Commendations
Stephanie Pyalanda
Kate De Pina
Victorian Student Ideas Prize Winner
Winner
Mandisa Sarker
Graduate Prize
Winner
Jasmine Lam
Enabling Architecture Prize
Allen Kong
Gender Equity and Diversity Prize
Marika Neustupny
Regional Practice Prize
Brad Hooper
Social and Affordable Housing Prize
James Henry
Sustainability Leadership Prize
Breathe Architecture

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This year’s recognised fellows include:
2025 Fellowships
Toby Reed
Graham Morrison
Jocelyn Chiew
Jefa Greenaway
Linda Kwok
Kirby Roper
Aimee Goodwin
Judith Arndt
Sandy Law
Victoria Reeves
Rebecca Naughtin
2025 Life Fellowships
Nigel Bertram
Richard Leonard
Lucinda McLean
Amy Muir
Marika Neustupny More

Architectural studio Besley and Spresser was one of twenty chosen from a pool of 76 applicants to exhibit in the Independent Projects program at the 2025 Lisbon Architecture Triennale, with an installation that displays treated asbestos waste converted into carbon-negative building materials. More

Architectural studio Besley and Spresser was one of twenty international teams to exhibit in the Independent Projects program at the 2025 Lisbon Architecture Triennale.
The triennale, running until 8 December 2025, was curated by Ann-Sofi Rönnskog and John Palmesino, founders of Territorial Agency and is centred around the theme, “How Heavy is a City?” The theme prompts exhibitors to investigate the planetary impacts of urbanisation across environmental, social and political dimensions.
Besley and Spresser was chosen from a pool of 76 applicants to exhibit in the Independent Projects program.
Their installation, titled 09.ED.15 Redux, explores the environmental legacy of asbestos across urban and suburban areas, and the potential for it to be transformed into a safe, functional material instead of adding millions of tonnes to landfill worldwide. The exhibit showcases treated asbestos waste that has been converted into carbon-negative building materials, such as bricks and a glazed column.

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Working with material scientists Asbeter from Rotterdam and ceramicist Benedetta Pompilli in Amsterdam, the exhibition reimagines the building industry’s infamously hazardous substance as a source of renewal and repair. Architect Peter Besley said the project began with a simple question: “What if one of the building industry’s most hazardous materials could become one of its most promising?”
“Asbestos embodies the contradictions of a lot of industrial material culture: convenience vs damage. By transforming it, we’re trying to contribute to the rethinking of the material culture of city-making,” said Besley.
Architect Jessica Spresser echoed those sentiments, commenting, “We wanted to take something historically feared and reveal its potential for renewal through innovation, research and design.”
“The installation makes visible the idea that repair can be both a technical and a poetic act,” she said.

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The triennale installation builds on the practice’s previous investigations into asbestos transformation. An earlier proposal from the firm called Redux was shortlisted for the Australia Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. The proposed pavilion featured raked panels of former-asbestos mineral render, free-standing columns made of blue former-asbestos mineral glaze and detailed maps of asbestos dump sites and building stock. More