How a tiny workers’ cottage in Petrie Terrace became a luxe five-bedroom award-winner

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Architect Andrew Noonan and his family of five live in a renovated 1880s workers’ cottage on a steep street backing onto Suncorp Stadium.

They have five bedrooms and three bathrooms in a house occupying just 196 square metres on a 240-square-metre block.

39S House by Andrew Noonan Architect in Petrie Terrace is part of Brisbane Open House 2025.

If that sounds like a tight squeeze, consider what came before.

“I was painting the hallway and the front door was open, and someone pulled up out the front and was staring,” Noonan recalled.

“He said, ‘I used to live here when I was young.’ His parents bought it in the 1930s, and there were 12 of them living in 75 square metres.”

The “39S House” is one of 10 architect-designed residences across the city opening their doors to the public this weekend for Brisbane Open House 2025.

A new two-storey extension to the west shields the home from heat and noise while optimising northern light and cross-ventilation.

Noonan approached its renovation with the aim of demonstrating that sustainable high-density living can be a beautiful thing.

“Most 400-square-metre blocks, it’s all grass and not doing anything except giving you a chore like mowing the lawn,” he said.

The renovation, which won the Harry Marks Award for Sustainable Architecture 2024, added a wing on the west side of the block and demolished a 1930s addition to the back of the house.

By changing the north-south orientation to east-west, he was able to make the home cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It doesn’t need heating or air-conditioning.

Maximising the insulation of the sun-catching west wall also mitigated traffic noise from Hale Street and Lang Park – the house is remarkably quiet.

Coloured textured glass from the front of the home was salvaged in the rebuild and turned into a feature window.

“There can be concerts on and if we don’t like the music, we can still watch TV,” Noonan said.

Instead of the typical open living-and-dining space, he created split-level spaces that are separate, but joined visually.

Noonan reused as much of the original house as possible. The old kitchen was removed for the rebuild, then reinstated.

An upstairs feature window of multicoloured textured glass, reclaimed from the old enclosed verandah, sits at the top of the central stairway.

“I call this the DNA of the house, catching the spirit of what these Queenslanders were like,” he said.

Queenslanders traditionally lose a large amount of heat through leakage, so the work involved wrapping the building in an “airtight membrane”.

The house also generates 30 per cent more energy than it uses.

The Brisbane Open House program for 2025 is the biggest in five years and the first to include private homes since COVID.

Renovations and new builds in Auchenflower, Clayfield, Fairfield, Stafford Heights, Tarragindi, Toowong and West End are all on show.

Major buildings opening their doors include Newstead House, Roma Street Fire Station, Brisbane Arcade, ABC Brisbane, Centenary Pool and Government House.

Winners of an exclusive ballot will get to inspect the underground Roma Street Cross River Rail station years before it opens to commuters.

Tours of the 39S House are already booked out, but you can join a waiting list.

Brisbane Open House 2025 takes place July 19-20.