Queensland State Design Awards 2025 Winner Sustainable Building Design Residential

4305 Design are honored to be recognised again as leaders in residential sustainable design in Queensland at the Building Designer’s Association of Queensland 2025 State Design Awards for our project ‘Gilladin‘.

About the Project

‘Gilladin’

Set in the lee of Mount Alford, this off-grid home reinterprets the iconic Australian farm shed through the lens of contemporary, high-performance design. Initially conceived as a workers’ cottage with an integrated farm workshop, the concept evolved into a highly compact yet fully flexible residence capable of functioning as a family home, short-stay chalet, or intimate event venue. Its restrained form, robust material palette, and passive design principles embody 4305 design’s core goals of sustainability, adaptability, and a deep respect for place.

Design Brief and Challenges

The initial brief was for an auxiliary offgrid dwelling prior to an offgrid main residence. The design is a caretaker’s cottage with attached workshop, drawing on the old sheds scattered across the rural landscape, influenced by national park chalet style accommodation. Mid design it became clear this would need to be a highly versatile building for current and future uses. It needs to be tough enough to withstand the constraints of the site but demonstrate a lasting connection to the surrounding exquisite environment and the rural district history. Durability, self-sustainability, and long-term versatility were the key drivers of the design. The brief included picking the right site location, and the site itself was challenging – with multiple environmental overlays, limited accessibility for construction and maintenance, bushfire, slope stability and restricted footprint availability. Keeping the building as compact as possible was essential to sit lightly on the slope and protect the site’s location from long term adverse impacts, without compromising safety.

Functionality & Liveability

This design is about versatility on the smallest reasonable footprint. The 1a (habitable space) is a tidy little 106m² across two levels and manages to do this without losing any function. The ground floor is designed for 2 persons permanently, with capacity for unlimited guests. The living is designed so furniture can rearrange from 4 to 12 while retaining flow paths. It’s 53m² include a kitchen, laundry, study, store, dining, lounge and stairwell set off a central flow path, intentional overflow naturally to the outdoor deck overlooking the cattle yards by the creek below. The mezzanine space is a storage loft and overflow swag accommodation area, studio or playroom. The public and work zones are kept separate from the private level where the bedrooms are spacious without being wasteful, feature spectacular views, and the bathroom upstairs is well ventilated and suitable for all ages. There is no waste in this floorplan – with even the tile fired flue retained through the main bedroom for winter heating. The workshop, perfectly suitable for disembowelling an engine, also can gracefully host an event crowd over a weekend. The loft has been designed for future generations who may decide to enclose it as habitable rooms with ease.

Innovation & Materials

Keeping the footprint down was a self-inflicted constraint. This was reflected in the lowest ceilings possible, with the intent of bringing a sense of comfort to the indoor spaces, and maximising the impact of stepping outside into the vast open landscape while saving on materials at the same time. The interior fit out is a direct reflection of the surrounding site in summer, warm hues matching araucaria floors and ceilings, and green grey highlights in the Voc free cabinetry. Lysaght steel (post-consumer 20% recycled) 0.48 is designed to withstand hail (roof specs) and the cladding is ember resistant and carbon negative. Hyne framing is used for the elevated home, and low carbon concrete for the slab and footings. The home’s energy performance sits in the sweet spot of 8.1*, runs on (13.2kW PV with 30kWh storage), collects 58KL, uses and reuses its own water with additional safety backup of 10KL. Roof cavity ventilation is automated with Airomatics, and high efficiency fans provide summer or winter ventilation. Double glazing protects the bigger glass openings. The design incorporates features for future generations ‘remodelling’ options in the mezz and to the east GF without any impact on the existing structure.

Affordability

The client wanted to invest consciously, without compromising long term resale value. By keeping the footprint as compact as possible, we were able to honour the intent while still finishing the project with high end finishes. It allowed us to use a lot more timber than a bottom budget build, resulting in a better looking and more sustainable overall project. By designing a high performance 8 star home, the required PV support was kept minimised, and ongoing running costs are limited to annual maintenance of the backup generator, annual rainwater filter replacement and biannual septic treatment system inspections.

Sustainable Design Principles

operational energy – high performance passive solar design, casements/louvres natural ventilation, ceiling fans, double glazing, insulation plan
embodied energy – low carbon concrete, PEFC timber in carbon negative cladding, framing & linings
adaptability – future renovations, business, passive income streams, bushfire performance +2 rated grade, hail protection
air quality – zero voc paints & cabinetry, natural ventilation maximised
accessibility – GF level entry threshold, hob free bathrooms nogged or braced out, 920 openings, lever handles
water – onsite collection, use, reuse and backup provisions
ecology – referred to native landscape architect, protection of natural waterways
social – thoughtful placement of seating, flow paths, workspaces
ethical – detailed specifications of backgrounded suppliers