The project was one of the winners of the 2013 Intergrain Timber Vision Awards, which recognise and celebrate the valuable role timber plays in Australian architecture and interior design.


The Shearer’s Quarters won the Best Residential Interior award. The project, located on North Bruny Island in Tasmania, makes creative use of local and recycled timber, including timber from old rural windbreaks and recycled apple box crates.
The building is located next to a historic cottage on a Tasmanian sheep farm, on the grounds of an old shearing shed which was destroyed by a fire. The house currently provides accommodation for shearers and rural contractors and is also used as a guests house for family and friends.

“The building design forms a holistic story between the artist, home and setting. The adaptive use of materials is impressive and the timber usage is creative in design with its unusual panel size and offset joints adding texture throughout. The wooden bookcase in the living space is a standout feature,” John Wardle Architects explained.
“The plan form transforms along its length to shift the profile of a slender skillion at the western end to a broad gable at the east. The geometry of this shift is carried through to the layout of internal walls, lining boards and window frames.”


While timber louvers and corrugated galvanised iron were used for the house’s exterior, the interior is made predominantly of recycled and locally-sourced timber.
The floor plan features a large open living/dining area with an incorporated kitchen, bathroom and laundry, two bedrooms and a bunkroom. The interiors, including the floors, ceilings and walls, are clad in timber, while the furniture is also predominantly made of timber.


“The primary internal lining is Pinus Macrocarpa sourced from many different suppliers principally as individual trees from old rural windbreaks. The bedrooms are lined in recycled apple box crates, sourced from the many old orchards of the Huon Valley where the timber remained stacked but unused since the late 1960s,” the architects said.
The Shearer’s Quarters took home three awards from the Australian Institute of Architects Tasmanian Chapter (2012) and was named the Australian House of the Year by Houses magazine and Villa of the Year at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore.