The 2025 Habitus House of the Year x Winnings shortlist is the most extensive, internationally varied one yet. Selected editorially rather than by competitive entry, every single one of the 26 projects showcased this year has already reached an elite level of commendation.
As part of our boutique awards program, only four practices will take away trophies at the reveal party on 4th December. There is, of course, the House of the Year, as well as the Editors’ Choice and People’s Choice Awards (vote here for the latter). Then there is the Winnings Award, designed to specifically recognise and reward emerging talent in residential architecture.
The Winnings Award for Emerging Talent is selected from among the full House of the Year shortlist. This year, four practices stand out as contenders for the Winnings Award – Anthony St John Parsons, Architect George, Lara Maeseele and SGKS ARCH. So, let’s take a closer look!
Related: Read about last year’s winner, MEGA
Anthony St John Parsons is currently based in Sydney. New Castle is his breakout project, one that was also recently recognised at the AIA’s National Awards. It’s an ambitious house, both conceptually and in terms of scale.
New Castle is fortress-like, an architecture focused on the private sanctuary within. From the outside, it reads as quiet and refuses to give away its secrets. This inward-facing character – modest from the outside, luxurious within – also speaks to some of Parsons’ sources of inspiration. It’s an expression of privacy that immediately evokes something of old, dense urban areas in West Asia, and the architect references an ancient walled garden ideal. Indeed, this is a project rich in wide-ranging cultural references, as well as direct architectural precedents such as Jørn Utzon’s Can Lis in Mallorca. Overall, it’s a significant project that cements Parsons’ name on the Australian architecture scene.
Moving to Architect George, the team led by Dean Williams has made the Habitus House of the Year shortlist for the second year in a row – an especially impressive achievement for a young practice. In 2024, it was an apartment renovation that brought recognition with Apartment in Double Bay II. The Winnings Award for Emerging Talent ultimately went to MEGA last year, narrowly beating Architect George to the prize.
Their shortlisted project in 2025 is House in Erskineville, one of those rare projects where the building itself becomes a quiet manifesto for adaptability. Here in a Sydney terrace setting, the design expresses a rejection of the fixed room and the prescribed family structure – and it has a killer fireplace.
Next Lara Maeseele is a Belgian architect now based in Tasmania, while her career has also included work out of London. Nebraska is her shortlisted project for 2025 Habitus House of the Year, a dwelling positioned on a stunning coastal site on Bruny Island.
Nebraska is a clean, refined and minimalist shell, gently perched between the bush and the sea. The project is a family holiday home that can expand and adapt to accommodate extended loved ones. “As a holiday house, it’s about living outside, being able to open everything up, and making the living room accommodate extra people,” says Lara.
Finally, it’s over to Victoria to meet SGKS ARCH. Park St is a house located in St Kilda West, Melbourne that transforms two tired Art Deco flats into a vibrant family home. The design is audacious, drawing from the minimalist precision of Tokyo as well as the exuberance of 1920s Miami. Principal Architect Henry Sgourakis, as both designer and client, has used the opportunity to test ideas, ultimately seeking reinterpret Art Deco language with a contemporary edge.
As a practice, SGKS ARCH was established in 2022, with Henry having over 15 years of experience across the architecture and design industry. Focused on a wide range of sectors as well as residential, the studio describes itself as “unapologetic about doing things differently.”
