The Creative Genius Behind the
2020 HOUSE OF THE YEAR
The Master Builders and Asset Construction Hire 2020 House of the Year in Deakin was built by Daniel Fitzpatrick of Architekt Grüne Häuser (now known as MegaFlora Group). The Excellence Awards judges quipped about the project, “the building nerd strikes again, and it’s awesome”. This comes from Daniel’s affinity for eclectic design and his extraordinary use of materials, “That buildup of eclectic and individual touches is something that I enjoy creating for clients, it creates a home that feels personal when completed,” Daniel said. Daniel isn’t motivated by striving to win awards, it’s the delightful result of building high-quality homes, “I didn’t go into this trying to build the House of the Year, the key consideration for me with any build is longevity. What we’re thinking is What will this look like in 10 years? Will this easily last 20 years? and I think that’s what produces award winning homes,” he said. When Daniel was pondering the question about what makes a home worthy of House of the Year he said, “My team approach builds making sure, is this the best way to do things? I think that constant questioning is important, and with custom built homes you have the opportunity to really consider what you’re about to do.” Every room in the 2020 House of the Year sings with intricate details and thoughtful personal touches. From the custom-made steel blue staircase through to the origami inspired angles throughout the home, it’s a work of art to behold.
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MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION NEWS EDITION 1 2021
But Daniel’s mission to create bold, magnificent homes can make his work increasingly difficult, “I create a rod for my own back, I suggest ideas to a client and say this is going to be hard and I don’t know how we can do it and I don’t have any examples of it because I haven’t seen before, but if we can do it, it could be extraordinary,” he remarked. One example of this with the home in Deakin, was Daniel’s suggestion to use the terracotta paint for the main ensuite, “A bathroom with vibrant orange paint and deep blue tiles with specially matched terracotta grout isn’t something I can just Google and come up with an exact example of what it’s going to look like, so it takes a lot of trust from the client to see the vision for what the idea could be.” The result of this trust between the builder and the client, is a magnificent bathroom in an award-winning home. Daniel and his team do a lot of their work inhouse, including creating custom joinery, metalwork, light fittings, furniture and even designing tiles. Daniel commented on this process, “Designing the light fixtures is a kind of 60-70s approach to design, doing everything you can inhouse and really being a part of all aspects of creating a home.” Daniel adopts this holistic approach to building across all of his projects, which creates unique and remarkable homes. The first step in the building process of any home begins before any concrete is poured, Daniel says, “Orientation is
