A post-war Brisbane cottage now has a brick extension that sinks into the hillside and turns toward the bush. The project, Stuartholme House, is a brisbane house renovation and addition, a category that often invites bold gestures. The architects, Nielsen Jenkins with Michael Lumby, chose restraint instead.
A house that works with its block
The cottage sits near the top of a long, sloped block on the foothills of Mt Coot-tha. The lower portion of the block is a designated overland flow path, which shapes where anything can be built. ArchitectureAU describes this as the third stage in the house’s evolution.
An earlier house renovation, designed by Kuhnell Architecture and completed in 2019, added a front building and entrance area. The current brief for this brisbane house renovation was to upgrade the original cottage and extend it into the backyard. According to the project description published by Nielsen Jenkins, the new work also had to connect the living areas more firmly to the bushland to the west and screen them from a development to the south.
A new lounge and a master bedroom suite frame a private courtyard. The courtyard opens to the bushland in both plan and section. The new volumes take their geometry from the boundary setbacks and flare slightly away from the old building edges, which gives the existing rooms more light and air. ArchitectureAU notes that the northern volume is rotated slightly, creating an angle that turns the courtyard toward the trees.
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Repair before addition in a brisbane house renovation
The architects kept as much of the cottage as possible in this brisbane house renovation. Original windows and doors were reused and retrofitted into the new layout. Morgan Jenkins, a director at Nielsen Jenkins, calls the approach “an act of repair.”
Two moves protect the light in the old rooms. A new skylight over the dining table brings daylight to the core of the cottage. A small side garden links to the kitchen through a sliding window, and a wall along the neighbouring boundary gives the courtyard privacy.
Compression and release
Michael Lumby explains that the route through the house is staged. A narrow passage from the kitchen opens into the lounge, which feels larger by contrast. A brick plinth steps diagonally out from that passage across the lounge’s northern and western walls, giving the room a clear direction.
The route to the bedroom runs through a dark, timber-lined vestibule that opens into a generous volume. Steps down to the bedroom follow the slope of the backyard. That change in level creates a tall interior that sits below the ground plane of the gum trees, where the canopy can be seen from bottom to top.
An external room, reached from the dining area, holds seats and a grill in a drought tolerant garden. The garden includes a dwarf gum, native shrubs, rocks and pebbles. Wattle and gum trees on the slope beyond the boundary form the backdrop.
Brick, concrete and a stepped roof
The site carries a BAL-FZ bushfire rating, the most severe bushfire attack level in the Australian Standard. The stepped roof answers that requirement and also blocks views from overlooking development. Sources differ on how the roof is built. One describes a stepped brick roof. ArchitectureAU describes double-layered brick walls with a stepped concrete roof structure.
Simple brick was the most economic option when the design was developed during the pandemic, according to ArchitectureAU. It forms the walls of both new volumes and the garden’s retaining walls, which ties indoor and outdoor spaces together. Concrete carries the floors and roof structure, and timber appears in the joinery.
The stepped form recalls Casa Malaparte in Capri, designed by Adalberto Libera, a reference the designers value. Its structure is also exposed inside, where the double-height lounge makes it a sculptural feature. The brick, now developing a natural white patina, sits beside the original timber and tin house without copying it.
The fireplace and its chimney show what the brick can do. Shapes and patterns are set into the masonry and framed by the glazed upper wall of the lounge. Stuartholme House has the most visible craft in its hearth and its rough, unfinished surfaces.
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Recognition and collaboration
Stuartholme House received a National Award for Residential Architecture in the Houses (Alterations and Additions) category at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2026 National Architecture Awards. The national jury described it as “an architecture of quiet intelligence where a post-war cottage is judiciously reworked into an architecture of refuge, privacy and connection.” It singled out the way “obstacles become generators of form.”
The jury also credited the collaboration between architect, engineer and builder. Struss Constructions built the project. Landscape design is by Nielsen Jenkins with Tom Collins. The jury’s closing judgement called the result “deeply grounded, quietly delightful and elegant.”
This brisbane house renovation does not try to compete with the bush. It gives the cottage more light, gives the occupants a sunken courtyard, and frames the canopy from inside. For a modest addition, that restraint does most of the work.
Images are courtesy of Nielsen Jenkins and Michael Lumby. Photography is by Tom Ross.
Source: yellowtrace.com.au
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the Stuartholme House renovation in Brisbane?
Stuartholme House was designed by Nielsen Jenkins with Michael Lumby. The architects chose restraint rather than bold gestures for the project.
Were the original windows kept in the Stuartholme House renovation?
Yes, the architects kept as much of the original cottage as possible. Original windows and doors were reused and retrofitted into the new layout.
What bushfire rating does the Stuartholme House site carry?
The site has a BAL-FZ bushfire rating, which the article describes as the most severe bushfire attack level in the Australian Standard. The stepped roof responds to this requirement.
Why does Stuartholme House have a stepped roof?
The stepped roof answers the site’s bushfire requirement and also blocks views from overlooking development. The stepped form also recalls Casa Malaparte in Capri.
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