BRISBANE'S HOUSE OF THE YEAR: SAMFORD GEM BUILT ON TRUST

When James Bragg's clients turned over artistic license for construction of their capacious Samford Valley home, it came with the confidence that he could produce something fitting their brief.  

What both builder and client didn't expect was the sheer magnificence that could be achieved by granting the builder this little slice of leeway.

The Samford Residence, named this year's Master Builders House of the Year, was designed and constructed by JBS Building and Development and overlooks the picturesque Samford Royal Estate.

JBS managing director James Bragg says this project granted his team a special chance to work with flexible clients in achieving a grand vision.

"Ninety per cent of this house is due to the fact we had such trusting clients," says James.

"In any project of this scale it always comes down to the relationship with the client and how willing they are to trust you with producing what they want, while still letting you have a bit of free run."

The brief was to create a house with a touch of grandeur, mirroring the classic feel of North Queensland resort-style living.

In response, JBS created the Samford Residence which sits atop a one hectare elevated block above the valley creeks and wetlands, featuring not only an expansive home itself, but also the Master Builders Swimming Pool of the Year.

"The pool actually follows the contour of the house around, starting with a waterfall spring which runs down into another two separate pools, each separated by small waterfalls and creeks," says James.

"Our aim with this was to fit the brief, but we also did a little bit to push our clients out of their comfort zones with a few different things like adding catwalks over and beside the pool."

Taken from concept to completion in 20 months, the Samford Residence proved a challenging build in terms of size and logistics.

"Just moving cranes around the sites and navigating around required a lot of organisation," says James. "It took on a different aspect like we were trying to build three houses in one."

Despite the trials posed by the gravity of the project, James and his finest crews were able to carry out the contract seamlessly on budget, on time and to the brief.

"All of our carpentry teams are handpicked and employed by us and all of our subcontractors have been past contractors of ours as well, so it was a very united front moving forward on this build," says James.

"Considering the size of the project, both JBS and the client were very happy with the product supplied and the price that we charged."

The Samford Residence marks yet another addition to the JBS collection of award-winning constructions which includes the Paddington Residence, an exquisite home that took out the Master Builders Individual Home $1 million - $2 million regional award in 2014.