Celia Burrell, a tourism entrepreneur from Toorak, has listed an oceanfront Sorrento property with a huge $16.5m to $17.5m price range.

The site is empty, apart from the shed at 3080A Point Nepean Rdon Tideways Beach. It measures 1312 sqm.

Public records show the land is owned by Toorak author and former model Celia Burrell, who is known for transforming a rundown Western Australian cattle station named El Questro into an internationally renowned wilderness park and luxury resort.

This famous WA property is home to luminaries such as Elton John and Kylie Minogue. It has also hosted Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Crown Prince Frederik, and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.

Why spring sellers are confident

01:36Ms Burrell, her husband William Burrell, a British aristocrat who had inherited the majority of his fortune through his grandmother, the Doyenne Penguin Publishing empire, purchased 283,279ha of land in the Kimberly area where they constructed El Questro.

The Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club is just a few minutes away.

William and Celia Burrell, 2016. Picture: Supplied/Instagram.

The couple sold the business for $17.4m in 2005.

In 2006, Ms Burrell was named a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her service to the tourism sector and for raising awareness of Kimberley’s cultural significance.

The site is adorned with a shed and a few trees.

Picture: Supplied. The El Questro homestead that Ms Burrell built in Western Australia. Picture: Supplied.

Nicole Kidman is an Australian actress who has stayed in El Questro. She was pictured here on stage at SXSW Sydney during a discussion on Australians and film. Picture: Richard Dobson.

The vacant Sorrento block’s listing states that its title “offers new development entitlements within its generous building envelope setting the foundations to design and create one of Australia’s most revered waterfront homes (STCA).”

Rob Curtain, managing director of Peninsula Sotheby’s International Realty, has the listing.

This address will soon become the third most expensive property in Sorrento.

A central staircase connects the different living areas. 

The Australian tradition of only offering four-bedroom houses as our sole residential option is outdated.

By letting go of the old notions of what a home in a city looks like, it’s possible to design homes that are both functional and whimsical and full of joy inside and out.

SJB is an architecture firm that designed 19 Waterloo Street. Image: supplied

A jury of experts in the industry recognized 47 residential, public, and commercial projects this year.

The winning designs were world-class examples of sustainability, adaptive reusing, dynamic collaboration among designers, connection to country, thoughtful higher-density housing, and generosity towards a broader community.

A pocket-sized rooftop garden offers outdoor space at 19 Waterloo St. Picture: supplied.

Shannon Battisson, the jury chair, said that Australia desperately needed new approaches for its built environment.

Ms Battisson stated that “our hope was to send out a message to the Australians on where our industry should go in terms of sustainability and learning from Country.”

Nightingale Village

The Frederick Romberg Residential Architecture Award was given to the Nightingale Village, a multi-housing development in Melbourne’s inner city suburb Brunswick.

Nightingale Village was awarded the Frederick Romberg Residential Architecture Award for Multiple Housing. Image: Supplied

The urban village consists of six buildings designed by different architects, all based on social, environmental, and financial sustainability principles.

Nightingale Village is a collection of six buildings designed by different architects. Picture: supplied

Austin Maynard Architects designed a building for the Nightingale Village. Clare Cousins Architects and Hayball also contributed to this project.

The village does not have any parking spaces for personal cars but has enough space to park sharecars. It also features a passive design; there is no air conditioning. There are shared laundry facilities and minimal interior finishes.

The jury stated that “despite their similarities in terms of the overall design, the buildings are all as different as one would expect from a group consisting of architects who normally compete with each other but are now on the same team.”

Merricks Farmhouse

The Merricks Farmhouse, designed by Michael Lumby and Nielsen Jenkins, won the National Award for Residential Architecture.

The Merricks Farmhouse has won the National Award for Residential Architecture. Image: Supplied

This Mornington Peninsula home offers a unique take on rural sheds, with walls covered in succulents and reminiscent of a mossy ruin.

A large courtyard with giant stepping-stones and native plants surrounds the pond.

Merricks Farmhouse has a partially submerged concrete water tank that can be used as a swimming pool. Image: Supplied

The rear of the house has four modest bedrooms, a sunken living room, and a kitchen-dining area that merges into a courtyard.

The black timber ceilings rise to hidden skylights and then drop to bedroom height.

Michael Lumby and Nielsen Jenkins designed the Mornington Peninsula property. Image: Source

The Merricks Farmhouse has a pool and a partially submerged concrete water tank that is a great place to cool down in the summer.