Most people thought this block was too hard to build on. But not Stephen

Dark years of anxiety and depression prompted award-winning architect Stephen Collier to nearly abandon the profession he loves and his passion for architecture.

Collier’s first major project in five years shows what an architect can do with a block that most buyers would reject as too hard.

Designed as a home for Collier and his partner, Mathieu Ravier, the new house in Scarborough, south of Sydney, adjacent to a train line, has been shortlisted in two major architecture awards.

The nickname of the small dwelling – OK House – is also a clue to Collier’s improved health.

The home has been restorative, said Collier. “It is a bit of cliche – there is a lot of bad shit in the world, but is important we have places that reinvigorate us.”

Resembling a rectangle that has been bent out of shape, the 158 sq m home with a 32 sq m square courtyard in the middle is one of 170 homes across Australia shortlisted for the 2026 Houses Awards by Houses magazine on Friday.

It is also among a handful of new homes in NSW shortlisted for best new home by the Australian Institute of Architects’ NSW chapter.

Collier said the block dropped 15 metres from the top, where trains run between Sydney and Wollongong. “It was steep, narrow, exposed, with bushfire source right beside it, and it has railway noise and vibrations. There was a landslide in this area some years ago, so you know it’s a very tricky place.”

A combination of anxiety and depression, some dating to his youth and some related to the stress of running Stephen Collier Architects, a practice of seven employees, prompted him to take time off work.

That is not unusual, yet few architects talk publicly about the high rate of industry burnout. Successive surveys have found that depression and anxiety among architects is higher than for many other professional groups.

Rachael Bernstone, the founder of Sounds Like Design, which provides business and communications advice to the profession, said many architects’ livelihood is under threat. “They haven’t adapted to this new operating environment very well,” she said.

That backdrop is one of falling revenues, small practices are vulnerable to economic shocks, staffing changes, the undercutting of fees and increased risks, she said, citing recent findings.

Bernstone said architects didn’t charge enough, considering they had to manage increasingly complex regulation, more bureaucracy, threats from climate emergency and the changing nature of the profession with AI.

Collier wanted a home that was private and protected, one that was bright and colourful inside and sup