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President’s Awards Quality design elements define this award-winner
Affordability, quality workmanship and innovation key to winning President’s Award
IT’S no easy feat to achieve the key criteria of the prestigious President’s Awards. In addition to achieving top marks in the standard judging criteria, the construction cost must not exceed $350,000. It must be a home every Queenslander can aspire to own. Winning the award this year is Brighton Homes’ stunning Mika 35. Light-filled and featuring a unique and contemporary design, the Mika 35 suits those looking for a sophisticated yet affordable family home. Located in the new Providence estate in South Ripley, this single-storey, fourbedroom home was built with family in mind and perfectly captures the essence of Queensland living, with a generous, light-filled and open layout, a quality fit-out and several design elements that make this home stand out from the rest. Features include a cut-out window and sweeping cut-out breeze way. These openings create a talking point in Mika 35 and expand the views from the kids zone out into the open plan living. Both cut-outs create a vibrant flow throughout the home and allow you to keep your eye on the kids while they play. The three minor bedrooms, an activity room and shared bathroom are located at the front of the house – a haven for the kids. The entertainment area, also at the front of the home is for afternoons watching movies and eating popcorn with the family. The master suite is in the middle of the home with an open ensuite to unwind, soak in a tub, and enjoy time to yourself. The spacious and light-filled living and dining areas are situated at the rear of the home. Wine and dine guests in the dining area or have a quick breaky near the kitchen bench. The pantry is tucked away at the end of the kitchen. The L-shaped sliding glass doors separate the island bench from the outdoor living and create a seamless transition between the indoors and outdoors. Inspired by Queensland’s sunshine and unique lifestyle Brighton Homes offers affordable home designs that aim to enhance the way Queenslanders live.
The team pride themselves on creating spaces that entice the senses and capture the beauty of sun-drenched days and electrified nights. Brighton Homes will partner with a client through every stage and milestone of the building process, from selecting the perfect design, lifestyle and location, to the handover of keys to a brand new home. The Brighton Homes team is there to make sure clients love building their dream home just as much as they do.
Coastal home wins People’s Choice
GRANT McDonald Homes have taken out the coveted People’s Choice award with Allan Residence at Yandina Creek. With extremely tough and tight access, this challenging build was exceptionally pulled off to achieve a striking design that’s unlike anything seen before. This light filled, five-bedroom home features clever design elements that make the most of the surrounding nature aspects. Featuring huge windows throughout and an alfresco entertaining area and lap pool, there is ample opportunity to take in the sweeping views. The home is a stunning build with immense livability and is an entertainer’s delight. The unique and striking architectural home has a distinctive modern feel and certainly stands out. The entry is commanding with a massive 2.4m by 1.5m full glass entry pivot door providing an impressive introduction to the home. The remarkable split-level home features five bedrooms plus a study, as well as two dedicated living areas. The main living area and kitchen open onto the large north-east alfresco tiled area. The space offers a great view overlooking the coast and lap pool all through a stacking door with seamless recessed tracks. The outside meets inside in this home, all facing perfectly to suit the aspect and match its high ceilings and offset cantilevered roof lines. The kitchen and pantry have a great layout, with stone tops and a mix of 2PAC and stone, and soft-close cabinetry throughout. The home has polished concrete to the entry foyer and square set plaster throughout. The home is environmentally friendly with solar power, heat pump hot water, solar powered LED downlights and the mass of lifestyle glazing is energy efficient .
Stonemason laps up state accolade
RON Neil Walkley has won Residential Contractor of the Year for his outstanding workmanship on a stunning Gold Coast pool renovation. The new 15m lap pool and pavilion was built to replace a failing pool structure. The judges commented that a high-quality of workmanship was evident throughout. The renovation featured French limestone pool work, where each step-tread was hand bull-nosed on site. External pathways and a driveway additionally featured hand-laid, tumbled cobblestones that were customised to suit the home’s design. The pool pavilion was constructed with exposed rafters and VJ feature lined ceilings. It featured a stone-clad fireplace creating a stunning focal point for the area and usability throughout the year. Interior and exterior stonework was a big part of the project. Site location caused many challenges on the project. The only access for machinery was by the river on a barge and other materials had to be carried in from the street-front.
Tradesman cleans up
THE passion for his trade is immediately apparent when you meet Christopher Bradley of Honed + Polished Concrete. This passion is accompanied by the technical understanding of the tools and products required. It’s this valuable combination that has earnt Christopher, Commercial Trade Contractor of the Year. He has the ability to tailor the process and products for the needs of his client and the end user. The Coles Birtinya Trading Floor project involved mechanically polishing close to 3,000 sq m of concrete. The team at Honed + Polished Concrete in partnership Progrind, delivered the job ahead of schedule, without additional costs from variations. They were the only trade contractors on site to deliver their job without a defect “In addition, the floor achieved a higher gloss points reading than required by the specification, This was largely due to mentoring. I spent two days with my team refining our work method to embrace some recent technical improvements. These were around producing mechanically polished concrete floors. “This also taught the team how to vary work methods for large scale production,” he said. It was a very successful outcome with the national head of construction for Coles commenting that it was the best delivery of flooring he had seen.
Apprentice displays knowledge and skill well beyond years
MASTER Builders Queensland 2019 Apprentice of the Year Chris McKenzie, started with JRZ Homes as a laborer four years ago. He’s shown boundless enthusiasm and initiative. Recognising these rare attributes and potential, he was signed up for a carpentry apprenticeship and his employer Jesse Zielke said, “the rest is history”. He’s a “massive asset” to the Bundabergbased business, and with a wealth of knowledge and skills beyond his years, Chris spends time between the site and in the office. He works as an estimator and contracts administrator, and is learning to use estimating software, and read quotes and plans. Jesse said Chris has exceptional mathematical skills, that see him solve any equation quickly and in his head. He also works alongside some of the industry’s best carpenters, who have over 30 years of experience and skills in traditional craftsmanship. Chris has had exposure to 30 plus new homes per year in his four years of employment with JRZ Homes. Jesse believes Chris will make a great builder one day and has taken Chris under his wing to give him extra experience. “We as an employer, could not be more proud of Chris, and the hard work and workmanship he possesses. He is a massive asset to our business, and we hope that he he will remain with us for years to come,” Jesse said. “We firmly believe he is deserving of this award for his humble approach to his role and his hard working, ‘not entitled to a job’ attitude.”
