Alterations and Additions, Completed 2022
Awabakal Country, Eleebana NSW


Aija's Place is for the eponymous and her cats. With views to Awaba (Lake Macquarie), Aija came to us with an already strong connection to place: her home and cherished garden.

Our contribution was to ensure that these elements of Aija's lifestyle were united and enhanced with a range of small interventions that combined to form a new wholistic mode of operation for the dwelling. Opportunities for sunlight, breezes, garden and views to permeate the house are increased, offering adaptability and heightened connections. As a single occupant, her home now allows Aija the freedom and flexibility to dwell in a series of spaces which are responsive to her self: in living, working, gardening, and being.

In re-evaluating existing housing stock which is ill-equipped for climate and Country, Aija’s Place is the latest in a series of investigations by Curious Practice into the power of minimal built intervention for maximum transformation.




Builder: Guess Developments
Engineering: Skelton Consulting Engineers
Landscape: Client
Photographer: Alex McIntyre

Awards: Award for Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions) Newcastle Architecture Awards 2023, Award for Sustainable Architecture Newcastle Architecture Awards 2023, Commendation Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions) NSW Architecture Awards 2023, Shortlisted EmAGN Project Award NSW Architecture Awards 2023

Publications: The Local Project, The Design Files

Similar Projects: Princes Studio, Kerri’s Place, return to all projects