Cover story: Cliffhanger takes top honours at Downs & Western Awards

Cliffhanger takes it to the edge with winning design

Cliffhanger is an engineering masterpiece with over 1000 cubic metres of concrete and hundreds of tonnes of steel. Built on an expansive, grassed sloping site in Redwood, Stuart Valdal and his team created an amazing architecturally designed home. Valdal Projects won a slew of awards at the Downs & Western 2022 Housing & Construction Awards, including the coveted BMS House of the Year for the impressive home. It also won best Individual Home over $2 million, as well as the award for Best Use of Sloping Sites, highlighting its nature as a true design and construction feat. Stuart and his wife Emily were thrilled to receive the prestigious trophy for this unique project. “We’ve always admired those that have won House of the Year in previous years, and we’re honoured and excited to receive this special award,” Stuart said.

CHALLENGES

Designed to take in and endure the climate of the Toowoomba Range, Stuart said one of his favourite features of the home was the uninterrupted views in every room. “It is really impressive with the amount of glazing,” he said. The glazing was done by a Sydney-based company, Vitrocsa, who had to get the curved glass from New Zealand. Boasting a seven-bay garage, stunning infinity pool, outdoor fireplace, and incredible views of the Lockyer Valley, this home is something special. Designed by Joe Adsett Architects and engineered by Westera, the block of land presented a few challenges. “The steep block we had to work with made everything from deliveries onsite to cranes or concrete pumps, a really complex problem that had to be well thought out,” Stuart said. The team had to have a special temporary platform made that was engineered to form up the cantilever and erect the scaffolding safely.

Another challenge facing the builders was the wet weather. As soon as it started raining, the site had to get shut down, or all trades vehicles onsite had to stay there until the site dried out and they were able to drive out.

Everything went to plan, and it looks incredible

WINS

Stuart said the showstopper was the sevenmetre-long cantilever. “As we had so much scaffolding, infrastructure etc. up in place to create this cantilever, it was so rewarding when we dropped it all and saw it in its glory! As soon as you walk around the corner of the driveway and you’re met by that, it looks really impressive.” Stuart said the Cliffhanger project stands out from the pack because the engineering and architecture that pushes the boundaries of what could and had been done in residential construction. “It’s received international attention and we’re proud to have built the project.”