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The 2026 Houses awards shortlist celebrates the country’s most ‘intelligent, dynamic and visually compelling homes’. For the apartment category, jury chair Alexa Kempton says judges looked for ‘density done well’.
‘Building is high-cost and comes with environmental consequences, and the jury observed architects rising to the challenge,’ she says, adding that designing something that will ‘last well into the future and adapt to the changing needs of the occupants is essential’
Fri 5 Jun 2026 02.00 CESTLast modified on Fri 5 Jun 2026 02.47 CEST
Brunswick apartment by Neometro
Instead of walls, the living spaces in this two-bedroom, two-bathroom Melbourne apartment feature custom joinery that breaks the space into distinct zones. Because these built-ins do not reach the ceiling, they allow for light and air to flow, offering some of the benefits of a standard open plan without the drawbacks. Photograph: Leo Showell
Apartment on the Loop by Billy Maynard Architects
Located on the top floor of a 1930s building in inner Sydney, this redesign reintroduced some elements of the space’s art deco heritage that had been ‘compromised’ by a previous renovation in the 1980s. Photograph: Mary Gaudin
Darling Point apartment by Corben Architects
This formerly outdated Sydney apartment was renovated to maximise light and airflow, reducing the need for air conditioning and artificial light. Timber veneer panelling was matched to full-height cabinetry, giving the space functional storage that also feels like a coherent architectural feature.Photograph: Tom Ferguson
Egan Compact by Kieran McInerney
Kieran McInerney converted his warehouse studio in Sydney’s inner west into a family home, as ‘an affordable way to stay in our apartment building’. The home has a footprint of just 27 sq metres, which fits 65 sq metres of floorspace, allowing the family’s children their own bedrooms.Photograph: Oscar Read
The Esplanade: a Place to Pause by Duo Architects
An art deco apartment’s interior was reworked into a highly flexible space that took advantage of the Sydney unit’s high ceilings, heritage features and existing flooring. Photograph: Tom Ferguson
Existenzminimum by Espinosa Studio
A 30 sq metre art deco studio in Sydney was renovated to increase the space’s functionality, largely through clever custom joinery. Creating a bed niche in the studio’s main room means the living area can be used for sleep or entertaining, while a restrained colour palette of white and natural woods keeps the unit calm. Photograph: Alia Grinvalds
Hide and Seek House by Tim Bennetton
ArchitectsThis renovation of a small beachside Sunshine Coast apartment was tailored to its occupants’ current and future needs. The result was a ‘hide and seek’ wall across the entire length of the apartment, allowing the owners to retreat or come together. Photograph: Shantanu Starick
Newport apartment by Mima Architects
A Sydney northern beaches penthouse apartment with a small internal floor area was reconfigured into a grander space, after extensive negotiations with the local council. Inside the apartment, a ‘central storage spine’ enhanced the unit’s functionality.Photograph: Traianos Pakioufakis
Northcote Townhouses by Birthisel Wittingslow Architects, Studio Esteta and Carr
Three couples, all of whom work in the industry, came together to redevelop an under-utilised lot with a single family home into three separate dwellings, sensitively increasing density in the area.Photograph: Tom Ross
North Melbourne Apartment by Card
This renovated brick walk-up prioritised reuse over expensive reconstruction. The kitchen was reconfigured, with a window that opened the apartment’s sight lines, while keeping mess concealed. Photograph: Tom Ross
Norton Street by Plus Minus Design
This Sydney project replaced a single ‘higgledy-piggledy’ three-bedroom house with two four-bedroom houses and two separate studio apartments. Photograph: Hamish McIntosh
Park Avenue Towers by Nic Morgante
A late-modernist apartment in Melbourne was completely renovated to rework closed-off interiors and centre the kitchen. The windows in the all-electric apartment were replaced with double glazing to improve thermal performance, with the reconfiguration enhancing natural light throughout. Photograph: Ben Moynihan
Patchwork Elizabeth Bay by Other Architects
This one-bedroom art deco apartment in Sydney underwent a ‘restrained’ renovation to update worn flooring and a dated kitchen and bathroom. The client prioritised sustainable materials, including salvaged offcut marble that was pulled out of a bin. These pieces were reassembled to create inlaid floors, borders and shelves.Photograph: Hamish McIntosh
Rose Terraces by Luigi Rosselli Architects
This set of four terrace homes in Sydney’s east were prefabricated from cross-laminated timber, with bricks from the previous one-storey building repurposed into brise-soleil screens and paving. The project was built in just six months. Photograph: Prue Ruscoe
The PentHouse by Austin Maynard Architects
A double-storey apartment with a formerly ‘inefficient’ layout was wholly redesigned to allow its owners to age in place. The unit was reconfigured in a doughnut around a central block that contains stairs, an elevator, storage and service rooms.Photograph: Sharyn Cairns
Ruby by Brad Swartz Architects
Redesigned for a downsizing couple, this Sydney apartment can be reconfigured into either a large one-bedroom space or a three-bedroom unit that fits visiting children and grandchildren, using sliding panels. Photograph: Tom Ross
Studio8 by Partners Hill
Located in the basement of an architecturally significant, heritage-listed building in inner Melbourne, this project converted a former laundry into living space.Photograph: Tom Ross
Torbreck 2.0 by Kin Architects
No existing walls were demolished in this Queensland apartment’s reconfiguration. Instead, functionality was improved by additions including custom cabinetry. Photograph: Christopher Frederick Jones
Torbreck Apartment by Amok Studio
Also located in Brisbane’s Torbreck building, this renovation of a 58 sq metre unit retained the space’s original floor plan. Custom joinery was used to significantly enhance the space’s storage and functionality. Photograph: Studio West Photography
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