Habitus #52 HOTY - Preview

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52 9 771836 055007 > OCTOBER | 2021 - JANUARY | 2022 AUD$17.95 | NZ$17.95 | SGD$13.95

INSIDE the most stunning examples of residential architecture across the Indo Pacific.

issue #52 habitusliving.com

BOLD IS THE NEW BLACK From geometric forms to vibrant-toned exteriors and daring textures, these pieces bring a whole new meaning to being bold.

Ferruccio Laviani had both simplicity and character in mind when he designed the TOBIA WALL AND FLOOR LIGHTS for Foscarini. “Tobia is an example of how simplicity can have character.

The lightness of a sign that becomes object, almost like a child’s drawing that outlines a body and a form to narrate a function,” Laviani muses.

With its statement handlebar feature allowing for ease of movement, Tobia becomes an organic part of any space: moving with you whenever you need. For a whimsical yet functional take on the floor and wall lights, look no further than Tobia.

Inspired by the Italian Radical Design Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, the SUPER COLLECTION by Bankston + Sans-Arc Studio brings an unexpected twist to architectural hardware. “We love the rebellious, sculptural and fun style of the Radical Design Movement. It is a period that has influenced our design aesthetic for some time,” says Sans-Arc director, Matiya Marovich. Featuring five vibrant designs, the Super Collection leaves a lasting impression throughout the home.

spacefurniture.com.au

bankstonarchitectural.com.au

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Drawing inspiration from its namesake, Lillian Wightman, the LIL CHAIR is the result of a fruitful collaboration between the iconic and internationally acclaimed JRF and Melbourne-based designers Russell & George. With a playful form that imparts a sense of joyfulness despite its compact scale, Lil Chair is a design-focused piece with character to spare. Successfully meeting exacting requirements around scale, price and quality, the Lil Chair can be a dining or lounge chair that toes the line between practical compactness and luxurious breadth. The offset arms and back hover gently above an ottoman-shaped seat, rendered in a refined leopard print. jrf.com.au

Beloved by designers and DIY-ers alike, this repurposing of ceramic tiles to level up all manner of furniture pieces has been an undeniable trend in recent months. THE COOKIE SIDE TABLE

by Fleur Studios is a hero of this movement.

With a playful cutout that helpfully increases functionality too, the sculptural form is the perfect base for Fleur Studio’s neutral choice of tile.

Cookie is a piece of furniture that fits well into a number of interior styles, whether it is a moment of relief from a maximalist living room or a seamless addition to a bedroom sea of neutrals. fleurstudios.com.au

2021 has seen a resurgence of maximalism; with this comes a renewed desire to see subversive, alternative and sculptural design. TAVOLO MORBIDO by Studio Mignone meets this brief perfectly. Featuring an abstract concrete composition, this table makes the typically rough and solid material of concrete become soft. What really brings this table to life is its unique production process, which draws from the sculptural techniques of mould making and casting, using these in conjunction with painting techniques such as colour theory and composition. Elegant, handmade, and a statement piece in its own right. studiomignone.com

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The Habitus House of the Year

Time and place

TEXT STEPHEN TODD | PHOTOGRAPHY BENJAMIN HOSKING | LOCATION FEDERAL, NSW, AUSTRALIA

Connecting all the senses, Federal House by Edition Office transmutes the everyday into an orchestration of carefully considered experiences.

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he house nestles, a poised beast in a lush sub-tropical forest, one flank cantilevered off a steep incline. Seen from above, its roofline reads as a ridged carapace. Façades closed, defensive.

Yet on approach, as you move about it, the outer wall appears to breathe – robust timber battens, observed obliquely, permit views through an expansive verandah that wraps the structure on two sides. Occlusive but porous, Federal House is imbued with a dynamism that belies its very evident stillness.

“We were really focused on how the house would perform in its setting, the way it connects to landscape and to a sense of deep time,” says architect Kim Bridgland. “The primary objective was to ground the house – and the clients – to that place.”

The place is the hinterlands of Byron Bay in northern New South Wales. The clients, like the architects, are based in Melbourne.

While ostensibly a secondary residence, the house is designed to evolve as life unfolds.

Entered from the west, the dark concrete floor gives way to a central void – open to the sky and descending to a fresh-water pool that anchors and aerates the house. To the left, a wide indoor walkway leads around the north

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façade, effectively describing an internal cooking/dining/living zone.

A row of sleeping and bathing rooms (“an enclave of withdrawal, rest and solitude”) forms the east wing. A lounge area abuts the integrated garage to the south, punctuated by a secondary portal oriented uphill into dense camphor forest.

“The idea was to minimise the living and sleeping spaces and maximise the outdoor connective zones adjacent to them,” says Aaron Roberts, who co-founded Edition Office with Bridgland in 2016.

“So, when the weather is right, you can expand the house out. And when the conditions are cooler, you can pack it down and heat certain spaces. This creates a more intimate atmosphere around those living areas, at the same time heightening awareness of context.”

While the plan is rational – essentially, three interior volumes arranged around a central courtyard – the experience of the house is ultimately emotional.

That’s partly because, as you move from the long view, approach and pass through the ventilated façade “its object-ness dissolves”, as Bridgland puts it.

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PREVIOUS When viewed from below the full scale of the home comes into perspective OPPOSITE A central greenhouse adds a biophilic quality

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The Tiny House

From the ashes TEXT ALEESHA CALLAHAN | PHOTOGRAPHY PAUL HERMES | LOCATION WYE RIVER, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

When the 2015 fires tore through the quiet coastal township of Wye River, Matt Goodman offered to help the community by designing not one, but three homes for locals – all pro bono. But it’s this house that realises the architect’s vision in its purest form.

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The Sustainable House

Beauty through simplicity TEXT ELANA CASTLE | PHOTOGRAPHY SIMON DEVITT | LOCATION WANAKA, NEW ZEALAND

With its armadillo-like armour, compact scale and elementary form, Condon Scott Architect’s Sugi House has caught the eye of the locals.

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The High-end House

Effortless elegance TEXT JAN HENDERSON | PHOTOGRAPHY JUSTIN ALEXANDER | LOCATION SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Collins Beach House is a harbourside home by Tobias Partners that sits perfectly in the landscape, while every detail inside has been custom built.

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This is a home to relax in, where the outdoors merge with inside and the semibush landscape creates a haven that both embraces and contains the residents.

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W

ith every project comes the chance to design something special, an opportunity to create a significant response to and for people and place, and the recently completed Collins Beach House in Sydney

by Tobias Partners defines fine and thoughtful design coupled with sophisticated living.

The architect and client journey began some five years ago, and the build of the 580-square-metre home was two years in the making. With a site that was originally two, and also included a water easement, the boundaries and landscape parameters presented unique challenges when designing the concept.

The brief from the clients to lead architect, Matthew Krusin, principal at Tobias Partners, was clear: privacy from and to other homes, a seamless inside/outside lifestyle, a place that was ‘effortless’ in style and connection to the bushland that surrounds it. The result is a truly one-of-a-kind home that embraces all of the requirements and does so with ease and grace.

Collins Beach House is defined by three volumes that fully explore and capture the site: two sit at an angle to each other on the ground level, while another floats over the top to create a void.

The floorplan of the house is masterful.

The garage, guest suite and rumpus room are grouped at the eastern end of the ground floor and the powder room, living, dining and kitchen reach to the western perimeter.

Beyond this is the pool at the side of the entertaining areas, as well as an expansive terrace that brings the outside into the kitchen in the middle. Above are the sleeping quarters with main bedroom suite, two further bedrooms and a bathroom and a living room and study.

PREVIOUS The project is defined by three block-like structures layered together LEFT Large frameless openings allow the view to come into focus

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The Industrial House

Raw material TEXT ALEESHA CALLAHAN | PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID YEOW | LOCATION KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

Set in the bustling district of Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur, End-Lot House by Eleena Jamil Architect uses the desirable location to its advantage while creating a private escape for the owners.

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The Vertical House

Wrapped up TEXT ALEESHA CALLAHAN PHOTOGRAPHY ANAN NARUPHANTAWAT LOCATION BANGKOK, THAILAND

House Cove(r) by Touch Architect maximises its corner site, adding ample additional space to this multi-generational home, and cleverly blending old and new together through a wrapped façade element.

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This drove the architectural language of the new building, balancing the need for natural light while countering privacy and overheating.

The ground floor features glass, protected with a perforated steel fence, while the upper floors are defined by a powder-coated aluminium trellis. The trellis has then been wrapped all the way around the entire home, including the original building, which aside from the new covering, was not touched at all.

The blending of the façade through the trellis allows the three-storey structure to appear as two, keeping in line with the rest of the homes in the village. Parpis says, “Because the third floor of the extension area aligns with the hip roof of the existing house, we continued the line of the trellis façade to blend and conceal the additional floor.”

The trellis was chosen for several reasons: firstly the design allows natural light into the interiors, while still offering a sense of privacy. Secondly, the material itself is lowmaintenance, lightweight and durable.

The use of steel and aluminium is somewhat unconventional in Thailand but was a necessary choice in order to achieve a strong

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but minimial structure that didn’t take up precious floor area.

“More commonly in Thailand we use reinforced concrete because of the price and the labour, but there was no space for concrete on this project. We needed the smallest sized beams and columns, which we could achieve with a steel structure,” says Parpis.

Translating to the interior, the internal spaces waste nothing, which is most apparent in the staircase design. The stairs do not follow a typical vertical flow, but rather manoeuvre to different locations on each floor to use space that would otherwise be awkward or unusable.

The new building accommodates many functions and additional floor area. Linking directly to the original home through a corridor on the ground floor is a play area with built-in bookcases. The ground floor also has the grandmother’s room, deliberately positioned lower down for ease of access.

Moving up, the first floor is dedicated to the main bedroom and parents’ retreat, while the second floor is an extension of the parent’s retreat, used as a multi-functional gym and movie room, able to adapt over time.

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The Landscape House

Framing the ranges TEXT STEPHEN CRAFTI | PHOTOGRAPHY ANNA ALLAN & MICKY ROSS | LOCATION WANAKA NEW ZEALAND

Framed by mountains and overlooking Lake Wanaka, this house captures the essence of the small township on New Zealand’s South Island.

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For the clients – a lawyer who works from home, and her mother – the views were central to the brief. D’Ettorre speaks of the power of sitting behind glass, and he’s not wrong. The house falls away to reveal unfettered views from every angle. On the ground floor, where the living room is situated, an oversized bay window provides a comfortable perch from which to observe the ocean. “Even during its tempest and inclement weather, it’s powerful to observe that natural world from behind the glass,” he says.

A courtyard situated to the side of the house introduces exterior space as part of the interior space. And it’s crafted just so, that when the southerlies come in you aren’t restricted from being outdoors.

But what really makes this a great house, poses D’Ettorre, is that “the clients can really relate to it”. “We have been touched by their emotional experiences on a daily basis.

We get regular feedback via images by phone.

From pictures of the garden day-by-day to the changing weather patterns out at sea.”

It reveals just how much of a glove-like fit this house is for its occupants: their understanding and appreciation of the architecture, their emotional excitement – tangible even via text message. “It’s working beyond their imagination.”

Renato D’Ettorre Architects | dettorrearchitects.com.au

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“Even during its tempest and inclement weather, it’s powerful to observe that natural world from behind the glass.”

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