Winner – Best contract house $5M – $5.5M
ARCHITECT: JOE SNELL
BUILDER: ONE-UP BUILDING
PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVE WHEELER
We’re proud to say our Earlwood project won the 2022 NSW Master Builder’s Association Award for Best Contract House $5M – $5.5M.
According to the MBA judges: ‘With innovative design solutions, OneUp Building has met the brief to maximise the views and realise the client’s dreams for a beautiful bold and contemporary family home, with a warm and welcoming nature. A very impressive job with lots of great features and finishes.”
To say this project has transformed the lives of its owners, Julia and Tony Tsiamis is an understatement.
Architect Joe Snell, of Studio Snell explains:
‘Like many projects for family homes, the brief evolved over time. When Julia and Tony first rang me and said ‘we have this house on the edge of a cliff in Earlwood’ I didn’t really understand as Earlwood was not a suburb I associated with cliff top homes. However, when I arrived on site I realised: ‘Wow, this is actually the first block on an escarpment!’.
‘The position was incredible, with the potential of amazing views back towards the city and surrounds. I realised we had the opportunity to create an eyrie, an eagle’s nest. A grand yet elegant home that would sit effortlessly in the landscape and survey all around it. I’m proud to say I believe we achieved that, whilst also achieving their dreams for their forever family home.’
Joe Snell, Architect.
This project was a challenging build on a range of levels and the resulting elegance of the home belies the complexity of the build that brought it to fruition.
Get a sneak peak in the video below.
One of the most challenging aspects of the build was dealing with the geological conditions of the site. Once initial construction and excavation took place, part of the site literally slipped away, creating the need for a redesign from a construction point of view.
According to Rick Simmons of OneUp Building, ‘The design challenge for me was how do I maintain Joe and the client’s vision without telling them we have to knock the house back six metres to get it back on the cliff?’
Rick’s response was to design a cantilevered footing system to pin back the structure, maintaining the architectural vision, scale and views, whilst overcoming a major unforeseen site issue.
The final form of the house is a true collaboration between the client, architect and builder.
According to client, Julia Tsiamis:
‘Everyone communicated really well. I think that’s why the result is what you see now. Rick was always open to listening to new ideas and trying to make them work with Joe so that was really good.’
Her husband, Tony adds:
‘I think they were a fantastic team and they both complemented each other.’
‘To come back and see Tony and Julia so happy, that’s inspiring because they’ve enjoyed the process and they are happy with the house. We have a great relationship so that that’s a really nice value add at the other end – knowing that they are really enjoying their investment.’

Earlwood clients and Rick Simmons (centre)

Earlwood clients and Architect Joe Snell
‘Sometimes I miss those experiences that we had during the build. I feel like we definitely got our dream house.’