Straddie’s prefab palace: How a modular marvel became Australia’s top house

When architects Daniel Burnett and Stuart Vokes went to North Stradbroke Island in 2021 to meet with some prospective clients, they found a crumbling 1970s beach shack overlooking Home Beach.

Three sisters who had grown up holidaying there wanted it rebuilt as a place where all three of their families could continue to enjoy the location and have equal access to the water.

“They said, ‘You’ve seen the site, let’s go to the most important bit.’

“We walked through the dunes to the beach and lay in the waves with them for a couple of hours.

“It was a wonderful meeting, and the end they said, ‘you’ve got the job.’”

The resulting building, a trio of three-bedroom terrace homes named Blok Three Sisters, was just awarded Australian House of the Year at the 2025 Houses Awards.

It also won the award for the best Apartment or Unit.

A project of Blok Modular with Vokes and Peters, the building was prefabricated from steel and timber in 12 modules at the Blok Modular factory in Carole Park and transported on trucks via the MV Minjerribah ferry.

Each of the three houses has a central garden open to the sky and is coloured light blue, bringing to mind Straddie’s faded fibro beach shacks.

The rear verandah has a double-height void looking out through trees towards the beach.

Houses Awards jury chair Alexa Kempton said the house was designed to optimise its living environment “to the last millimetre”.

“Many of the winning practices looked beyond the scale of a single project to champion vital messages for sustainable and responsible residential design,” she said.

“There is a need for urban infill projects that utilise the space in built-up areas better, because we have a housing crisis,” Burnett said.

The project’s clients praised the project’s prefabrication in a Google review.

“The modular approach meant the bill was faster, [it was] more efficient, and far less stressful. We didn’t have to worry about so many weather delays and unpredictable costs,” they wrote.

“It feels incredible to stay in. The finishes and detailing are exceptional far beyond what we’d expected from a modular build. Every surface and junction feels considered and beautifully crafted.”

Organised by Houses magazine, the Houses Awards recognise the best in Australian residential design.

Blok Three Sisters was the year’s only Queensland award-winner, with other winners being houses built in NSW and Victoria.

The house has already won a Minister’s Award for Urban Design, a Greater Brisbane Regional Architecture Award and an Australian Institute of Architects Queensland Award.

Burnett said he was trying to replicate the feeling of being among the sand dunes while in a house.

“It’s completely immersed in all the sounds and the breezes and the smells of the ocean. And that, for me, is one big measure of its success.”

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