Nestled high in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Curramore in the Clouds is a prime example of the beauty of modular aesthetic and innovation. Split across multiple levels, it stretches to the contours of a steep site, angled to catch the views through glass balustrades and wide windows.
Dark-stained, knotted timber cladding anchors the house to its landscape, while the modules themselves – some triangular rather than rectangular – bend to fit the slope. Inside, open-plan spaces are filled with light, a generous pantry sits tucked behind the kitchen and airflow drifts through carefully placed windows.
It is a home that was created with care, attention to detail and thoughtful design.
The home is one of Saltair Modular’s most striking projects and proof that modular can deliver architecture as refined as any custom build.
Curramore was created inside the company’s Coolum production facility, where homes are assembled piece by piece under the rigour of factory conditions.
Every detail is handled indoors – cabinetry fitted, tiles set, mirrors mounted – before the modules even touch their final site. The difference is that, unlike a traditional build, these homes arrive 99 per cent complete. It’s a process that saves time, cuts waste and ensures quality control at every stage.
When you think of modular, you might picture a form that is plain or utilitarian, but Saltair’s projects show otherwise. They are sleek. They are modern. And they are designed with the same care and creativity as any other home – just built a little differently.
This is exactly what helped Curramore in the Clouds stand out at the Sunshine Coast Master Builders Awards, where the Saltair Modular creation secured the Prefabricated & Modular Housing title. Alongside Curramore, the company was recognised for its Witta display home and for the QBuild Bundaberg project, taking home awards in both the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay Burnett categories.
For managing director Steve Bridger, the recognition reflects more than craftsmanship. It highlights how modular is evolving.
“We can design modular homes to mirror the look of traditional build, but more recently we’ve found that people are choosing to embrace the modern modular aesthetic,” he says.
Founded in 2013, Saltair has grown from a small Sunshine Coast builder into one of the state’s leaders in modular construction.
The company now operates three production facilities, two on the Sunshine Coast and another at Crestmead on Brisbane’s southside, together capable of producing up to 2000 modules each year. This scale allows Saltair to build for private homeowners while also supplying government, commercial and community projects across Queensland and New South Wales.
“We’ve been going all over the state, shipping things up to Airlie Beach and out west as far as Thargomindah,” Steve tells salt. “And we were the ones who quickly installed half a dozen duplexes or so for the Tara bushfires.
“We were doing a QBuild job at the time and we had the modules there. It’s just another advantage of doing modular because the Queensland government had ordered them and there was a desperate need, so we redirected that to Tara for police housing.”
The advantage isn’t only speed, though time is a major factor. A conventional build can take 18 months. Saltair can complete builds in as little as 10 to 12 weeks, thanks to the way foundations and modules are constructed in parallel.
“The house itself is pretty much 99 per cent complete. The only thing that you have to do on site is land that building and then connect it all,” Steve says.
This approach has earned national recognition. Saltair is now one of only five CommBank Assessed Manufacturers in Australia, a policy that allows clients to access up to 80 per cent of the contract value in progress payments before the home even reaches its site. It’s a move that signals growing confidence in modular as a scalable solution to the housing challenge.
“This is about more than lending, it’s about recognising modular construction as a serious, scalable solution to Australia’s housing challenge – reducing build times… cutting waste and delivering consistent, high-quality outcomes,” Steve says.
“At Saltair, we manage the entire process in-house – from approvals and design to manufacture and installation, so projects move faster, with fewer risks and greater certainty.
“At the end of the day, our clients want certainty. They want certainty over their costs, they want certainty over their timeframe and they want certainty in the delivery of the quality of their product.”
Clients can choose from 34 standard designs, adapt them to suit individual needs, or commission a fully custom home.
“We take people through a front-end design process with our in-house design team. And through that process, we do all the showrooms and selections and things like that. So, before a client signs on the dotted line, we’ve addressed everything that you can about their build,” Steve adds.
Saltair’s versatility has pushed it beyond housing. Its 2024 Master Builders Sunshine Coast win for the Sunshine Coast Airport Car Rental Services project showed what modular can achieve in the commercial space. Two oversized 96m² modules were transported from Coolum to the airport under police escort during a curfew shift – a reminder that modular isn’t confined to residential.
“We still love residential, we’re very good at it. We’re always getting better,” Steve says. “But when we think modular, it’s not just housing. It’s whatever can be done building-wise.”
Local policy shifts are creating new opportunities too. From July, Noosa Council waived infrastructure charges on secondary dwellings, such as granny flats, in a bid to improve affordability and increase supply. For homeowners and investors, it’s an incentive that could see more small-scale modular builds across the region.
For those curious to see the results first-hand, Saltair’s display village at Quanda Road in Coolum is open on weekdays, while the company will also host an open day during the Sunshine Coast Open Home on October 18-19. It’s another chance for people to see up close what a modular build looks and feels like and perhaps rethink what they thought they knew about prefabricated homes.
From hinterland homes built in triangular modules, to duplexes fast-tracked for bushfire recovery, to major commercial projects, Saltair Modular is showing that modular construction isn’t an alternative. It’s a solution and it’s reshaping how we think about building in Queensland and beyond.