The INDE.Awards stand as the Indo-Pacific region’s most prestigious recognition of excellence in architecture and design. Celebrating innovation, sustainability, and cultural relevance, the awards spotlight the projects and practices shaping the built environment today and into the future. The 2025 edition has once again elevated the standard, honouring works that embody both design rigour and human experience.

Among this year’s winners, House on a Hill by Leeton Pointon Architects and Allison Pye Interiors has been named the winner of The Living Space category, proudly partnered by Gaggenau. This award recognises the most inspiring and functional residential designs across the region, where architecture and interiors come together to define the way we live.

Situated on Bunurong Country on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, House on a Hill is more than a home; it is a place of gathering, retreat and resilience. Designed as a multigenerational country residence, it seamlessly accommodates two people, extended family and even large-scale social and corporate events. It also functions as a working farmhouse to support vineyard and livestock operations, embodying adaptability at every scale.

What sets this project apart is its ability to nurture while withstanding the harsh, windswept environment of the peninsula. Robust, sustainable materials anchor the house for longevity and reduced carbon footprint, while gentle curves, natural timber, and stone bring warmth and intimacy. This balance of strength and softness ensures that the architecture is both durable and deeply human.

The design of House on a Hill engages in a constant dialogue between contrast and harmony. Transparency and opacity, light and shadow, sound and silence; all are carefully orchestrated to heighten the sensorial experience of the home. Subtle zoning allows for privacy and separation of uses without sacrificing openness and generosity, creating a spatial rhythm that adapts to its inhabitants’ shifting needs.

For Leeton Pointon Architects and Allison Pye Interiors, the success of the project lay not only in its architectural expression but also in the strength of collaboration. Close partnerships with consultants and the builder ensured refined detailing, budget precision and a result that surpassed the client’s expectations. The outcome is a home that feels at once grounded and weightless, offering sanctuary while celebrating the expansive landscape it inhabits.

By winning The Living Space at the INDE.Awards 2025, House on a Hill reaffirms the power of architecture and design to shape the way we live and connect. It is a project that balances pragmatism with poetry, creating a residence that is as functional as it is uplifting.

For the industry, it stands as a reminder that the most successful homes are not simply built but crafted through vision, collaboration and a sensitivity to people and place.

Discover the full lineup of 2025 INDE.Awards winners here. Entries to the 2026 INDE.Awards will open in early December. 

Photography: Lisa Cohen