ENCLAVE Architects Wins BIG SEE Architecture Award 2026 for House on the Hill — A Story of Resilience
- ENCLAVE Architects
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
For most people, an architecture award celebrates design excellence.
For ENCLAVE Architects, receiving the BIG SEE Architecture Award 2026 for House on the Hill represents something much deeper.
It represents resilience.
It represents trust.
And it represents nearly five years of determination, problem solving and persistence to bring an ambitious vision to life.
Presented annually by BIG SEE, one of Europe's leading international platforms for architecture and design, the awards recognise projects that contribute meaningful ideas to the built environment through innovation, design quality and cultural impact. Bringing together outstanding projects from across numerous countries and disciplines, BIG SEE celebrates architecture that extends beyond aesthetics — work that creates value through its relationship to people, place and experience.
To receive this recognition on an international stage is an important milestone not only for ENCLAVE Architects, but also for House on the Hill itself.
Awards create another layer of value within architecture. Beyond acknowledging design quality, they preserve a project within a broader architectural conversation. They recognise years of effort that often remain invisible and elevate projects beyond physical buildings into works that contribute to design culture.
For House on the Hill, this recognition feels especially meaningful because of the story behind it.
Located in Narre Warren North overlooking the landscape towards Lysterfield Park, House on the Hill was conceived in response to an extraordinary site condition — a dramatic 35-degree slope that challenged conventional notions of residential design. Rather than fighting the site, ENCLAVE Architects sought to embrace it. The home was designed as a sequence of interconnected pavilions stepping carefully with the terrain, allowing architecture and landscape to work together as one.
The project was imagined as an architectural journey. Rather than revealing everything at once, spaces unfold gradually through framed views, skylights, layered volumes and moments of compression and expansion. As occupants move through the home, the landscape continuously reveals itself through changing perspectives and light conditions. The result is a house that feels discovered rather than imposed.
Yet while the final architecture appears calm and effortless, the process behind it was far from simple.
The journey began in January 2020, when ENCLAVE Architects was first engaged to design the home on the challenging hillside site. Documentation progressed rapidly and by mid-2020 the project had reached tender stage with a builder appointed shortly after.
Then came COVID.
As global disruptions affected construction industries worldwide, escalating material costs dramatically altered project feasibility. Construction pricing increased substantially, leading to contractual disputes and a situation that moved dangerously close toward legal proceedings.
Many projects do not recover from moments like these.
But House on the Hill did.
ENCLAVE Architects stepped beyond the traditional role of architecture. The team became mediator, strategist and problem solver — helping navigate difficult discussions and preserving the future of the project without legal action or financial settlement. Eventually a new builder was appointed and the project moved forward once again.
Challenges continued throughout construction. Material shortages across Australia caused delays. Major defects later required rectification. Financial and construction pressures temporarily paused progress. Landscaping itself would stop and restart before finally reaching completion.
From initial engagement to handover, the journey spanned almost five years.
Five years of refinement.
Five years of challenges.
Five years of believing in a vision.
Which is precisely why the BIG SEE recognition carries so much significance.
The award acknowledges more than the completed form. It recognises the commitment required to protect an idea through uncertainty and complexity.
Today, House on the Hill stands not only as an internationally awarded residence, but as a reminder that architecture extends far beyond drawings and construction. It is about navigating challenges, bringing people together and carrying a vision forward — even when the journey becomes difficult.
For ENCLAVE Architects, House on the Hill will always be remembered not simply as an award-winning project, but as a story of resilience.
Because sometimes the most difficult hills are the ones worth climbing.
Project Team: Madhusha Wijesiri, Mia Papaefthimiou, Noorah Hadeed, Wendy Zhang, Samantha Boyd, Gener Reyes, Hosni Mohammad
