Australian Residential Architecture and Design
B R E AT H OF F R E S H AI R Vibrant spaces that energize and revive
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At a Glance
From the Editor Musings
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Contributors
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Fresh Finds Products
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Harry House: 56 Meet the Owners Working with an Architect The owner of a newly renovated cottage chats about her home and the decision to take a punt on a younger architecture firm. Bookshelf 60 Reading An atlas of mid-century homes, a survey of houses by Australian architect Sean Godsell and interior inspiration for cultivating "green" or "glam." Turn Up the Heat Kitchen Products Sleek surfaces, cooktops and clever appliances are the latest innovations for cutting-edge kitchens.
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Olaver Architecture One to Watch
Pinch Studio
Mr Fräg Studio
Olaver Architecture, founded in 2015, is building an eclectic portfolio of tightly choreographed projects.
London-based design studio Pinch designs furniture that embodies a refined and pared-back aesthetic.
Elemental forms punctuated by direct material expression are a signature of Australian furniture designer Frag Woodall.
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Open Door: Contemporary 138 Makers and Designers Postscript Examining the significance of domestic doorways and thresholds, this tightly curated exhibition sparks a broader conversation about design.
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93 MA Architects In Profile Operating with a clear agenda, MA Architects produces highquality housing that contributes sensitively to its context.
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Mt Eliza House by Bird de la Coeur Architects First House
Paddington House by Ken Woolley Revisited
Vanessa Bird of Bird de la Coeur Architects describes her first project as a testing ground for multi-generational living.
Completed in 1980, modernist architect Ken Woolley's home in Sydney was conceived as an homage to his wife.
AT A GLANCE
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Designed with clarity and creativity, the homes in this issue are a layered expression of contemporary ways of living. 24
40 Castle Cove House by Terroir, with Pascale Gomes-McNabb Design New house Sydney, NSW
Mermaid Multihouse by Partners Hill with Hogg and Lamb
New house Whoota, NSW
New house Gold Coast, Qld
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Harry House by Archier
Bozen’s Cottage by Taylor & Hinds Architects
House Lincoln by Those Architects
Alteration + addition Melbourne, Vic
Alteration + addition Oatlands, Tas
Alteration + addition Sydney, NSW
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Wallis Lake House by Matthew Woodward Architecture
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Surfside House by Andrew Burges Architects
Cooks River House by Studio Plus Three
Merri Creek House by Wowowa Architecture
Alteration + addition Sydney, NSW
Alteration + addition Sydney, NSW
New house Melbourne, Vic
CONTENTS
124 Glebe Studio by Proepper Architects with Angela Rheinlaender Studio Sydney, NSW
Musings
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Our homes are profoundly personal. They tend to register stories, becoming vivid portraits of those who live in them. These stories can be told incidentally, through the patina of time, inscribed from one generation to the next. But sometimes, these narratives are deliberately brought to the fore by an architect or designer. This kind of architectural storytelling is palpable at Bozen’s Cottage by Taylor and Hinds Architects (page 68), a historic stone cottage that, through layers of finely executed alterations and additions, expresses the lived histories of individuals who have called the building home. At Paddington House, the subject of Revisited (page 130), the late Ken Woolley has paid tribute to his wife’s love of music – expressed in a distinct geometry and spatial complexity within the home. Fusing function and poetics, this issue’s houses reflect the deeply thoughtful process behind their making. In each instance, the architect or designer has given clarity to the home’s narratives, stitching the values of each owner, whether new or successive, into its fabric. In this way, the house becomes a ready vessel for holding and making memories. Gemma Savio, editor
01 Step inside the award-winning Daylesford Longhouse at The Architecture Symposium on Saturday 4 April. Enjoy the verdant surrounds of this extraordinary building by Partners Hill, while being inspired by an engaging line-up of presentations and discussions about some of Australia’s most outstanding residential architecture. Don’t miss out – book your tickets today. Photograph: Rory Gardiner. designspeaks.com.au
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02 Take in atmospheric architectural imagery by iconic Australian photographer John Gollings. Celebrating the breadth of his distinctive career, John Gollings: The History of the Built World is the first major survey of Gollings’s oeurve. Capturing buildings of all scales, from private residences such as the Coogee House by Chenchow Little (pictured) to grand civic spaces, this collection expresses Gollings’s unique artistic vision. This Monash Gallery of Art travelling exhibition is showing at the Museum of Sydney until April 26. Photograph: John Gollings. sydneylivingmuseums.com.au
Write to us at houses@archmedia.com.au Subscribe at architecturemedia.com Find us @housesmagazine
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MUSINGS
03 Laugh along with comedian Tim Ross as he celebrates Australia’s modern masterpieces in his latest show, Designing a Legacy. A unique hybrid offering: part talk, part screening and part comedy routine, this show threads together films, stories, and Ross’s signature brand of humour to paint a vivid picture of some of Australia’s most significant modernist houses. Designing a Legacy is on tour nationally – look out for a show in your city. Photograph: Rod Pollard. themanaboutthehouse.net
Timber surfaces for every palette.
Contributors Editor Gemma Savio Editorial enquiries Gemma Savio T: +61 3 8699 1000 houses@archmedia.com.au
Stuart King Writer Stuart King is a senior lecturer in architectural design and history at the University of Melbourne, where he also researches Australian architectural history, with a particular interest in Tasmania.
Katherine Lu Photographer Katherine Lu is an architectural photographer based in Sydney. Her interest lies in documenting how the built environment can shape and influence us. She believes that good architecture has the ability to improve our quality of life.
Editorial director Katelin Butler Assistant content editor Stephanie McGann Editorial team Nicci Dodanwela Cassie Hansen Josh Harris Alexa Kempton Production Simone Wall Design Metrik studiometrik.com General manager sales & digital Michael Pollard Account managers Amy Banks Tash Fisher Lana Golubinsky Victoria Hawthorne Advertising enquiries All states advertising@ archmedia.com.au +61 3 8699 1000
Sheona Thomson Writer Sheona Thomson is an architecture academic in the School of Design at Queensland University of Technology. She coordinates the courses that ask students across the design disciplines to explore how they, as next-generation designers, can create positive change.
Marcus Baumgart Writer Marcus Baumgart is a founding partner of Baumgart Clark Architects. He is a long-time freelance contributor to several architecture publications, and the author and editor of help.design, which explores issues relating to design and architecture.
WA only OKeeffe Media WA Licia Salomone +61 412 080 600 Print management DAI Print Distribution Australia: Ovato Australia (bookshops) and International: Eight Point Distribution
Cover: Mermaid Multihouse by Partners Hill. Photograph: Shantanu Starick.
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CONTRIBUTORS
Managing director Ian Close Publisher Sue Harris General manager operations Jacinta Reedy
Published by Architecture Media Pty Ltd ACN 008 626 686 Level 6, 163 Eastern Road South Melbourne Vic 3205 Australia T: +61 3 8699 1000 publisher@archmedia.com.au architecturemedia.com New South Wales office Level 2, 3 Manning Street Potts Point NSW 2011 Australia T: +61 3 8699 1000 Endorsed by The Australian Institute of Architects and the Design Institute of Australia.
Member Circulations Audit Board
Subscriptions architecturemedia.com/store subscribe@archmedia.com.au or contact the publisher above ISSN 1440-3382
Copyright: HOUSESÂŽ is a registered trademark of Architecture Media Pty Ltd. All designs and plans in this publication are copyright and are the property of the architects and designers concerned.
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AWARD CATEGORIES
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Find more residential products: selector.com and productnews.com.au
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01 Calibrate colour palettes Taking their cues from textural landscape elements, the three palettes – ‘Positive Light,’ ‘Equilibrium’ (pictured) and ‘Home Grown’ – of this empowered and youthful colour library each comprise four core hues and reflect the vibrant voices of modern Australia. haymespaint.com.au
03 Coast furniture collection Designed to be clean, modern and timeless, the Coast collection is inspired by travel, adventure and freedom. The Wave bed, Malibu side table and Celeste wall sconce evoke the outdoors while retaining a sumptuous feel that brings calm and balance to interior spaces. danielboddam.com
02 Theodore hardware collection Luxury architectural hardware specialist Joseph Giles designed this beautiful, tactile and practical collection. It pays homage to a historic London public house and complements modern design schemes, with hexagonal cabinet handles, lever handles and door pulls. englishtapware.com.au
04 Linen tableware Veronique Terreaux uses traditional hand-dyeing processes to produce rich, earthy tones for this linen range by Australian brand Long Courrier. Napkins (pictured), placemats and coasters are available in four colours that reflect the slow and deliberate nature of preparing tea. robertplumb.com.au
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FRESH FINDS
05 Bobby stools Part stool and part chair, Bobby by designer Daniel Tucker is a perfect “inbetweener” for casual outdoor spaces that call for quality materials. The compact and robust frame is finished in a durable textured powdercoat that can be black, white or a custom colour. designbythem.com
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06 String Galvanized shelving system String’s iconic shelving system has a flexible, elegant and minimalist aesthetic. The shelves can be mounted to any wall and are easy to rearrange. The Galvanized version of String has been specially designed to withstand a lifetime of outdoor use. greatdanefurniture.com
08 P.O. Light The P.O. Light by Canadian designer Calen Knauf has an understated, elegant presence that celebrates a source of light rather than a lamp itself. The P.O. is designed to nestle behind objects and furniture so that it can illuminate, not dominate, an interior space. calenknauf.com
07 Exotec Vero concrete-look panels The raw, pre-finished aesthetic of James Hardie’s fibre cement Vero panels can create authentic, contemporary facades. The panels are lightweight yet sturdy, with crisp square edges and expressed joints that combine stylish intentionality with long-term durability. exotec.com.au
09 Kamen doorware The new Kamen collection proves that elegance doesn’t have to mean softness. Each product in the collection, which comprises levers, cabinet knobs and pull handles, features a powerful knurling pattern that is as pleasing to the touch as it is to the eye. designerdoorware.com
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PRODUCTS
10 Frame Living System Designed by Justin Hutchinson for Kett, Frame Living System integrates storage and technology into a seamless furniture solution. The sustainable and health-conscious system contains no formaldehyde, phenols, solvents, PVC or melamine. coshliving.com.au
Styled by Carlene Duffy - Cedar & Suede
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11 Pampa Mini rug collection Pampa has launched a new collection of Mini rugs in desert colourways inspired by journeys across Argentina to meet with artisan weavers. Terracotta hues meet with dusty mountain pinks in traditional patterns and motifs that bring comfort and warmth to any space. pampa.com.au
13 Sparkbrook brass hooks and handles Armac Martin’s Sparkbrook collection is made from solid brass with a machined diamond knurl that provides a glamorous, contemporary industrial look. The range comprises a knob, a T-bar handle, three sizes of cabinet pulls and an appliance pull available in a variety of finishes. gregorycroxfordliving.com.au
12 Vipp coffee table Danish design company Vipp is expanding its range of furniture with high-quality coffee tables that come in two sizes. The tabletop, which can be made from either marble or dark oak, appears to float above the spare yet sturdy three-legged steel frame. cultdesign.com.au
14 Lang Mursten brick series Exquisitely crafted, long-format Danish bricks represent the perfect fusion of cutting-edge design and practical functionality. These softmoulded, tastefully proportioned bricks are available in eight new colours, including ‘Jacobsen’ (pictured). pghbricks.com.au/lang-mursten
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PRODUCTS
15 Pebble lights The Pebble series from Andlight draws its inspiration from nature, celebrating the natural beauty of river stones. Translucent glass shapes come together to create pendants and wall lamps that seem to shapeshift when viewed from different angles. kodalighting.com.au
WA LLI S LAKE H OU S E B Y M AT T H E W WO O D WA R D A RC H ITECTU R E
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Nestled against a ridgeline and taking in views to the distant peaks of the national park beyond, this new home in Whoota, on the New South Wales coast, is born of dedication and collaboration.
Words by Beth George Photography by Brett Boardman
This house embodies a long, fruitful collaboration between architect Matthew Woodward and ownerbuilder Adam Haughey. The two met years ago through friends, and have since come to work together on numerous projects. The triangle of architect-clientbuilder is often held together in delicate balance. When it works, and trust prevails, it is a solid thing, and the best possible foundation for a project. It is buoying when amity and understanding is cultivated between builders and architects, and this pair clearly support and challenge one another. Adam describes the house as a résumé project – and there is a lot to drink in. Matthew, meanwhile, speaks of “cinematic sublimity,” and an intention to deliver prospect and refuge, craftsmanship and robustness, serenity and playfulness. Located in Whoota on the New South Wales coast, the house is ostensibly two masses – one in timber and one in concrete – joined by a bridging element and courtyard. On arrival, we enter into the concrete mass via a passage, past a large window facing the coast. This block has a planted roof, with succulents tumbling out over the walls. It houses the kitchen and living space. A long spine connects us with the second block – the living quarters – containing two guest bedrooms and a bathroom at ground level, and the main bedroom and a workspace above. This wing is clad with recycled blackbutt
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shiplap boards and battens on the north elevation, and polycarbonate sheeting to the south. Part of the timber screening outside the main bedroom opens mechanically. A drift through the house reveals screens in reclaimed dowel, shelves and door faces in mild steel, timber joinery, cleverly adapted hardware, form-ply cabinetwork, raw fibre cement sheeting and tightly curved tiling – a wealth of meticulous tradesmanship. The care shown in the house’s junctions and construction details is notable, with many elements resolved collaboratively. The concrete work on the project is exceptional: voids and corners in the roof slab are sharp, and the soffit is satin-smooth. Curtain rails and casings for the vast glazed door suites were boldly cast directly into the slab – a move that is high risk and, thankfully, high reward. Seamlessness is clearly an expectation across the project, and where multiple materials meet they are aligned flush and to a grid. A herb box is embedded into a continuously folded stainless steel section in the kitchen benchtop, with a south-facing window as its splashback. Doors appear frameless, and cabinetwork meets the ceiling with millimetre precision. And yet, it is some of the unfussy moments in the project that provide the most delight. A linear skylight positioned parallel to the kitchen bench, opens up to the sky through the roof planting.
WALLIS LAKE HOUSE
01 The house seems to sit on an axis that bisects the lake, the arc of two headlands, and the horizon of the ocean beyond.
Wallis Lake House is built on the land of the Wallamba people of the Worimi nation
2 Whoota, NSW
New house
Couple
During construction, before the junction between concrete and skylight was sealed, a few rogue dichondra fronds made their way through the gap. After pulling them out a couple of times, Adam decided to modify the detail, and now these unexpected houseguests tumble happily into the interior. An upper level walkway in standard cyclone mesh connects the house to the slope behind it, where a bocce pit and lawn reside. A huge water tank and a tall flue sticking through the roof garden provide novel punctuation to the linear layout. In addition to the house, there is an impressive shed, housing a dormitory-type setup, a kitchenette, a huge workshop, and, wait for it, a skateboarding half-pipe. The house is an escape and crash pad for owner as well as guests, and the shed provides ample space to create (and recreate). The house is largely open to the landscape to its north and commands a sweeping view. It absorbs the setting through large and frequent openings with concealed frames, and these open onto a lawn garden with kangaroo paws and grasses foregrounding Wallis Lake beyond. There is an air of a picturesque painting about the view from the living room and lawn. The upper level and roof garden take in the bluish peaks of the Booti Booti National Park ranges to the north-west. The block slopes quite steeply, and a retainer has been cut into the hillside along its south elevation. The house seems to sit on an axis that bisects the lake, the arc of two headlands, and the horizon of the ocean beyond in total symmetry. Despite all the visual features, tactile memories endure from my visit – walking in bare feet from smooth slab in the living space, to roughened washed aggregate concrete in the wet areas, to standing on the plushest of Zoysia grass on the roof garden, and toothy buffalo on the front lawn. This house expresses a strong working relationship between its designer and maker; and it may induce early retirement plans in any who visit.
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2 Site 104,100 m² Floor 180 m²
Products Roofing: Lysaght Klip-lok 700 Hi-strength in Zincalume steel External walls: Recycled blackbutt from Australian Architectural Hardwoods in Cutek CD50 wood protection oil; off-form concrete Internal walls: Auswood formply; off-form concrete; Briggs Veneers blackbutt (quarter-cut) veneer in Osmo oil finish Windows: Breezway louvres, Aneeta sashless windows and Award Architectural Aluminium Fairview sliding windows in clear anodized aluminium; Viridian Comfortplus Clear glazing Doors: Award Architectural Aluminium Fairview sliding doors in clear anodized aluminium; Viridian Comfortplus Clear glazing Flooring: Burnished concrete in high performance seal coat system; wire-brushed, recycled blackbutt from Australian Architectural Hardwoods in Osmo oil finish Lighting: Flos Tubular Bells
NEW HOUSE
Design 9 m Build 1 y 3 m
Per m² $8300
ceiling LED and semi-trimless LED downlight; Reggiani ceiling light; Louis Poulsen AJ wall light K tchen: Brodware kitchen mixer Kitchen: in ‘Aged Iron’; Miele cooktop, oven and Mastercool fridge; custom concrete benchtop; formply joinery by Saltwater Joinery with edges finished in Osmo oil; Blum Tandembox Intivo joinery hardware; 12th Avenue Iron pulls in blackened steel Bathroom: Brodware Yokato fixtures in ‘Aged Iron’ and ‘Vecchio Organic’; Caroma Teo 800 wallhung basin; Inax Yohen Border tiles from Artedomus; Cemintel Barestone wall panels; washed aggregate concrete floor; Villeroy and Boch Subway wall-hung toilets Heating and cooling: Smartheat infloor heating and radiator wall panels External elements: Boral concrete blockwork; custom washed aggregate concrete pavers made onsite Other: Custom joinery by the architect and Saltwater Joinery
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Entry court Walkway Entry Dining Kitchen Living Breezeway Bedroom Laundry/linen 20,000-litre water tank 11 Garden
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12 Fire pit 13 Citrus orchard 14 Study 15 Robe 16 Deck 17 Green roof 18 Skylight 19 Bridge 20 Lawn 21 Bocce pitch
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02 Above the kitchen, sharp voids and corners carved from concrete reveal views to the sky. 03 Tactile timberlined spaces create a “cinematic” experience throughout the home’s interior.
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04 The northern facade embraces the landscape, with large and frequent openings overlooking the lawn and the lake beyond.
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05 Operable screens adjoining the upstairs bedroom provide shade and capture views to the lake. 06 A narrow entryway at the site’s western edge emphasizes the linear organization of the plan.
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Architect Matthew Woodward Architecture +61 2 8041 7802 studio@matthewwoodward.com.au matthewwoodward.com.au
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Project team Matthew Woodward, Callum Eve, Patrick Maitland, Nicholas Papas Builder PCM Projects with Jack James Construction Engineer Partridge Landscape designer Pangkarra Garden Design Town planner Accuplan Bushfire protection Australian Bushfire Assessment Consultants Private certifier Modern Certification Land surveyor Lidbury, Summers and Whiteman
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MERMAID M U LT I H O U S E BY PA RT N E R S HILL WITH HOGG AND LAMB 01
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Twin dwellings artfully coalesce in this flexible Gold Coast home, designed to provide a mother and son with moments of connection and retreat, agency and privacy.
Words by Sheona Thompson Photography by Shantanu Starick
Intriguingly, Mermaid Multihouse by Partners Hill with Hogg and Lamb is described by the architects as a “demonstration project,” signalling its value as a scheme with qualities and outcomes worth reproducing. In these terms, the design proposes a judiciously original and intelligible vision for the dual occupation of a suburban block. Pooling their resources for a dual occupancy rebuild on the site of their former family home on Queensland’s Gold Coast, a multi-generational client pair (a mother and her adult son) set the path for Mermaid Multihouse, seeking a better outcome together than each could obtain singly. The pair is indicative of the shrinking size and increasing diversity of household types in Australia. In South East Queensland, only 30 percent of households comprise couples with children. Over his career, architect Timothy Hill, of Partners Hill, has designed many homes for clients in the other 70 percent. He recognizes that the typical detached family house is restrictive and inflexible in accommodating inevitable life transformations. Within the conventions of the standard family house plan, running a business from home, hosting short-stay guests and accommodating long-stay occupants – including adult children or ageing parents – can become uncomfortable and often unviable. The Mermaid Multihouse seeks to explore alternatives, offering a more functionally manoeuvrable and spatially distinguished environment for multi-generational or otherwise non-traditional households. The duplex type is reimagined with an artful ingenuity in the Mermaid Multihouse. From the exterior, the building appears as grandly singular. Timothy’s playful characterization of “post-coastal Miami Italianate” aptly summarizes the feeling of the place, with its layered allusions to local influences and distant precedents. Villa-like in its street-front presentation, the building articulates into three parts. A piano nobile is suggested in the subtle elevation of the main living level, useful in the subtropics to get above wet ground and facilitate drainage for thriving gardens. Structural concrete H-blocks are unconventionally composed to form a defensive but breathable screen, achieving the familiar beachside breezeblock effect but with greater
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MERMAID MULTIHOUSE
Mermaid Multihouse is built on the land of the Kombumerri clan of the Yugambeh people
2 Gold Coast, Qld
Duplex
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gravitas and better economy. And a parapet is constructed from that other hardy beachside fabric, fibre cement sheet, scribed with vertical battens to texture the planes. A high timber fence integrating access to the double carport bounds the block. The entry sequence begins at the gatehouse, a masonry portal crowned by a lantern made of the restyled H-blocks. Across a pebbled garden court of zoysia, succulents and subtropicals, another sentry-like block fragment, mounted on a plinth, marks the next transition through the blockwork screen to a bridging foyer of floating timber. Once through the textural plane of the porous facade, the duplex presents an articulate but spare simplicity. A novel interpretation of the party wall divides the two dwellings into non-identical architectural twins. From the wall spring two white-battened barrel vaults, forming airy double-height arcades that temper the daylight flowing through the skylights set into the roof above. These serene spaces are permanently open to the outdoors, secured by monumental but lightweight full-height gates. Grounded by reflective polished concrete moated by pebbles, the arcades surprise and delight as they reach inwards, loftily framing views of lush gardens at the rear of the block. The planning of each dwelling is economical, with service areas and vertical connections pocketed to support individual rooms. The arcades augment the modest two-level residences, externalizing circulation and providing opportunities for casual occupation. The arcades also create a sense of spatial grandeur and expanse from within the flat suburban block, drawing in the private landscapes and views to street and sky. Difficult to imagine from the plans, the luxurious connective spaces were “a leap of faith” for the client but unlocked an entirely fresh conception of the duplex to harness the benign beachside environment. The tall, daylit realms create an independent address for each home and a protected microclimate onto which the rooms open, such that all enjoy daylight and fresh air on at least two sides. The twinned sequence of outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces concludes in a pair of garden rooms, off-axis, at the northern extent of the site. Separated from the main building by a small grove of pawpaw trees, each pavilion introduces a new orientation to the whole and is a place of intimate retreat. Each is served by a north-facing kitchen that opens wide to the lush little world. The Mermaid Multihouse offers an alternative model for achieving two distinctive and flexible homes on a modest budget. The collaboration between architect and contractor yielded an economical scheme using typical construction methods with innovative applications of off-the-shelf building components. In this inaugural model, two related individuals happily coexist side-by-side with agency and privacy. However, the essential configuration – of gated territory, permeable but protective facade and climate-modifying arcades open to autonomous dwellings – could readily host other household types and uses, and denser occupations, gently enriching the subtropical suburbs with new options to meet contemporary needs.
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NEW HOUSE
2 Per dwelling
Site Floor
405 m² 200 m²
Design 1 y Build 9 m
Products Roofing: Stramit Longspan metal sheeting in Colorbond ‘Surfmist’; Ampelite Wonderglass GC transluscent sheeting External walls: National Masonry H Blocks; James Hardie Villaboard Internal walls: CSR Gyprock CD plasterboard Windows: Architectural Window Systems Vantage series sliding windows in white powdercoat; Breezeway louvre windows Doors: Architectural Window Systems Vantage sliding doors in white powdercoat; Hume hinged doors Flooring: Boral polished concrete flooring; spotted gum floorboards in clear satin polyurethane finish Kitchen: AEG induction cooktop; Ilve oven; Bosch dishwasher; Brodware City Stik Kitchen Mixer in ‘Brushed Nickel’; custom stainless steel benctops; Caesarstone island benchtop in ‘Fresh Concrete’; 2-pac joinery in Dulux ‘Whisper White’ Bathroom: Kaldewei bath; Brodware tapware in ‘Brushed Nickel’; Caroma Luna toilet; 2-pac joinery in Dulux ‘Whisper White’ External elements: Eco Outdoor Bluestone pavers
01 The dwellings are sheathed in a single breathable yet protective screen of concrete H-blocks. 02 On either side of the shared party wall, double-height arcades capped by barrel vaults act as semi-outdoor circulation paths.
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03 The two-level residences open onto the central arcades, which, in turn, draw in views to street, garden and sky. 04 The north-facing kitchens connect to lush gardens that further embrace the benign beachside environment. 05 The economically planned interiors present an articulate but spare simplicity.
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Street entry Garage Shared porch Office/ studio/ bedroom Communal space Arcade Kitchen Garden Pavilion
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06 From the street, Mermaid Multihouse appears as grandly singular, with layered allusions to local architectural styles. 07 The twinned sequence of outdoor and semi-outdoor spaces concludes in a pair of garden rooms, cloistered by foliage.
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Architect Partners Hill +61 7 3608 2868 mail@partnershill.com partnershill.com
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Architect Hogg and Lamb 0417 791 825 mh@hoggandlamb.com hoggandlamb.com
NEW HOUSE
Partners Hill project team Timothy Hill, Andrew D’Occhio, Jonathan Chamberlain Hogg and Lamb project team Michael Hogg, Greg Lamb Builder Concord Built Australia Engineer Tim Hall and Associates
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CASTLE COVE HOUSE BY T E R RO I R W I T H PA S C A LE GOMES-MCNABB DESIGN
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In Sydney’s tranquil Castle Cove, an angular concrete form is an architectural riff on the rocky crags and crevices that characterize the steep topography of this harbourside suburb.
Words by Genevieve Lilley Photography by Brett Boardman
Castle Cove is one of those pockets of Sydney that only residents go to. Conceived as a sort of garden suburb around a lush country club, it’s more discreet than the adjacent peninsulas of Middle Cove and Castlecrag (famous for its Burley Griffin houses). So, by the time you have wound around the golf links, down a side street and along a long driveway to reach this off-form concrete house, by Terroir in collaboration with Pascale GomesMcNabb Design, it feels very much like the city and suburbs of Sydney have been left behind. The curved slope into which the house nestles is an extraordinary (yet typical) harbour peninsula bush landscape – twisting angophora, rocky outcrops, screeching birds and, below, a glimmer of sparkling water. Among the huge gums sits a strangely beautiful, concrete, oyster-like form. It hovers above ground level and has deep recesses. The wide concrete eave shades a full wall of dark glazing (and conceals a recessed fire-shutter to comply with fire-zone requirements). The house is a play of sunny platforms, clear crinkled angles and deep shadows in crevices. Its cool, dark spaces are supremely suited to bright, warm days and echo the rock overhangs all around the basin of the site.
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CASTLE COVE HOUSE
01 The living areas of the residence are arranged on the upper level, where a wide concrete eave shades an expansive balcony. Artwork: Sally Ross.
Castle Cove House is built on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation
4 Sydney, NSW
New house
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Family
Site 4,813 m² Floor 510 m²
The clients had come to Terroir some years ago, motivated by the architect’s attitude to landscape. Disciplined building and art enthusiasts who are passionate about design, their circumstances meant that they could be actively involved on the site. The siting of the house feels beguilingly logical and informal. In shape, the building is an embracing crescent that follows the terracing of the landscape, looking north-east from a wide terrace to a new pool and deck and thence to the harbour. A smaller “flipped crescent” wing behind the main rooms includes subsidiary bedrooms that look uphill into a tiered garden. The house is also of a deceptive scale. As one approaches the property along a long narrow contour, the end elevation (a bedroom with a blank, sloping, cast-concrete wall) protrudes over a smaller angled form (a concealed storeroom). The openness of the car spaces and the converging angled concrete wall of the upper deck lure visitors towards an entry hall. Inside, the drama of the double-height space, with triangular skylights and sculptural steps sheathed in vertical metal blades, comes as a complete surprise after the angled but restrained exterior palette of concrete forms. The stairs lead up to the living spaces at a piano nobile level. A bedroom sits at each end of the house, and is reached by wandering through either the living area or a darker, sound-absorbing music/TV room. The main bedroom has a beautifully faceted, mirrored bathroom and a small study nook looking into a lush pocket garden. The variety of spaces is delicious, with every room having a different emphasis and quality. The rear bedrooms, with concealed timber doors, are set apart from the north-facing principal rooms by a timberlined corridor toplit by triangular skylights. The Melbourne interior designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb was also brought in to the project by the clients. The architects, while not fully involved in contract administration, remained involved throughout the six-year build, and enjoyed working on the smaller details that arose from the collaboration with Pascale – bespoke bronze cupboard door handles, quirky cabinetry, delicate covers for light shafts. The lower entry area has a remarkable trifecta of spaces: a guest suite; a light, airy gym looking onto a garden, and a moody cellar where a hand-blown glass pendant light can be glimpsed through stacked wine bottles. The guest suite is a veritable cave, dug into the eastern end of the site, with only a sliver of a window offering a glimpse of the garden. Otherwise, the suite is illuminated entirely by light chimneys that rise through the rooms above. Other support spaces dug into the hill include a storeroom, a fire-water tank and enormous rainwater tanks. Sculptural and complex, the house directs the visitor’s gaze to a plethora of views. Climbing through the terraces of the upper site, one can see the triangular skylight forms rising above the zinc roof. The zinc rolls down the sides of the various forms, emphasizing the idiosyncrasies of each room. This makes it a building that is incredibly respectful to its neighbours above. On this beautiful site, Castle Cove House is a crafted labour of love. It will remain an exquisite paean to its location, its client, its architects and all those involved in its creation. It will no doubt have an enduring place in any history of Sydney bush architecture.
HOUSES 132
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NEW HOUSE
Design 1 y 4 m Build 6 y
Products Roofing: Elzinc cladding in ‘Slate’ and ‘Black’ from Arc External walls: G and D Concrete off-form concrete; Elzinc cladding in ‘Slate’ and ‘Black’ from Arc Internal walls: G and D Concrete off-form concrete; Elzinc cladding in ‘Slate’ and ‘Black’ from Arc; custom blackbutt veneer panels in Feast Watson ‘Black Japan’ and 2-pac panels in satin finish by Rintoul Windows: Atlite double-glazed skylights; Vitrosca doubleglazed sliding doors in black anodized aluminium Doors: Custom solid blackbutt doors in Feast Watson ‘Black Japan’ by Rintoul Flooring: G and D Concrete with burnished concrete floor by Stoneart Lighting: Reggiani Sunny track-mounted projector and Yori Surface lights from Euroluce; Yamagiwa Mayuhana Mie pendant; Flos Easy Kap 80 Round downlight, Tab T table lamp and Find Me spotlight; Apparatus Cylinder Swing Arm sconces and custom Lariat 6 in ‘Blackened Brass’; Modular Lighting Instruments light fittings Kitchen: Cavalier Ventilation rangehood; Wolf stainless steel oven and cooktop; Vola tapware in stainless steel; Frost Catering Equipment custom fridge and freezer; Hobart dishwasher and oven Bathroom: Vola tapware in stainless steel; Earp Bros hand-painted glazed and glass mosaic wall tiles; Calacatta marble and Portsea Grey marble from CDK Stone Heating and cooling: Rehau hydronic underfloor heating External elements: Eco Outdoor cobblestones; Greene Fire fire curtains Other: Interior metalwork and structural steel by Salken Engineering
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Undercroft Scribbly gum Pool Deck Lift Kitchen Dining
15 Living 16 Robe 17 Office 18 Laundry 19 Balcony 20 Media room
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02 On arrival, visitors encounter a crescent-shaped house with a skin of angular concrete. 03 A collaboration with interior designer Pascale GomesMcNabb led to bespoke details.
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NEW HOUSE
04 The sharp geometry of the architecture continues inside, where canted walls playfully obscure views between rooms.
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The house is a play of sunny platforms, clear crinkled angles and deep shadows in crevices.
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05 A dramatic light chimney illuminates the downstairs bedroom suite. 06 On the lower level, a cave-like guest bedroom appears to have been carved out of the hillside. 07 The northeastern elevation reveals the interplay of sunny platforms, clear crinkled angles and deep shadows in crevices.
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CASTLE COVE HOUSE
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Architect Terroir +61 2 9698 2198 sydney@terroir.com.au terroir.com.au
HOUSES 132
Interior designer Pascale Gomes-McNabb Design pascale@pgmd.com.au pascalegomes-mcnabbdesign.com
Terroir project team Gerard Reinmuth, Chris Rogers, Scott Balmforth, Robert Beson, Sarah Benton, Joshua Lynch, Amanda Clarke, Alex Moore, Kirrill Grigarin Interior design Terroir in collaboration with Pascale Gomes-McNabb Design Builders Olding Constructions, Callic Constructions Structural engineer SDA Structures Hydraulics Michael Frost Electrical engineer Steve Nee
NEW HOUSE
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HARRY HOUSE BY ARCHIER
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Wrapped in charred timber cladding and hugged tightly by a lush suburban garden, this discreet addition to an inner Melbourne cottage expertly balances function and folly.
Words by Ella Leoncio Photography by Peter Bennetts
Located in an unassuming street in Melbourne’s north, Harry House is a hidden addition to the rear of an existing cottage. Described by the owner as a house that is “so easy to live in,” Harry House acts as a framework that supports a family of five. What makes the house remarkable is the way that architecture practice Archier has taken a very detailed and pragmatic brief and translated it into a design that is not only highly functional but also playful and neatly resolved. The owners had a forensic understanding of how their family would live in the house and wanted their requirements to be packaged in the smallest building footprint possible. An inspection of the plan reveals that this has been accomplished. The kitchen and dining areas – those used most frequently by the family – are privileged over the living area and allocated the location with the best outlook and access to daylight. The living area is compact by comparison, with views out to a small courtyard, and has a closer relationship to the children’s bedrooms. To keep the plan compact, the clients’ three sons share one bathroom, which has been planned with the shower and toilet in separate rooms so that multiple users can be accommodated at once. A central laundry is flanked by the children’s bathroom and a butler’s pantry in a series of linked spaces. To further streamline day-to-day family life, service spaces are centrally located and easily accessible from all bedrooms and living spaces. They are not hidden from view, as one typically expects. These clustered service spaces function as a production line of cleaning, bathing and feeding, and each has been designed with highly robust, child-friendly finishes. Efficiency in these spaces was crucial to meeting the owners’ expectations for how the home would frame their lives.
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HARRY HOUSE
Harry House is built on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation
5 Melbourne, Vic
Alteration + addition
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Family
Although the clients knew how they wanted the house to work, Archier challenged their initial brief, unravelling opportunities to create architectural delight. The clients had envisioned the house as a single storey, but Archier encouraged them to raise the main bedroom to a first-floor level in order to engage more with the garden, including two significantly sized fig trees. This move had the added advantage of creating a private sanctuary for the parents. The finished garden is lush and expansive. Full-height glazing around the kitchen and dining areas takes advantage of this green backdrop. Soft landscaping pulls in snugly around the facade, making the space feel like an outdoor room nestled into a jungle. This gives visual breadth to the kitchen and dining zones, which occupy a much smaller footprint than one would assume. It’s a move that has allowed the clients to build less yet gain more. The floor of the kitchen is slightly lower than that of adjacent areas, reducing the dominance of the island bench. A mirrored splashback reflects the garden, further diminishing the presence of the joinery and allowing the garden to sing. This sunken kitchen – a move driven by the architect – also encourages a stronger social connection between the kitchen and dining zones, so that even the youngest child can peer over the bench and participate in conversation. A double-height void adjacent to the glazing takes further advantage of the garden. The first floor stops short at both the north end, facing the garden, and the south end, where the new addition meets the existing cottage, creating double-height spaces at either end. Appealing to their clients’ playful side, Archier proposed the suspension of netted hammocks within these voids. This creates usable spaces above while still allowing light and air to penetrate below. The south hammock, which is located at the stair landing, acts as a rumpus space for the children. As a room with a standard floor, it would have felt poky and compromised, but as a netted hammock, it feels more than generous. It’s a fun and playful space that stokes the imagination and will surely make this house a great place to grow up in. The less visible but no less noteworthy success of this house is its ability to seamlessly negotiate its suburban setting. The rear extension is a neat double-storey cube wrapped in charred timber cladding. For a practice that has worked largely in rural settings, Archier has been adept in wrestling with planning restrictions to design an extension that bears the same formal clarity as its rural projects. The design team has been strategic with the size and placement of first-floor windows, avoiding highlight windows and privacy screens so that the internal spaces feel uncompromised. At Harry House it’s clear that Archier has listened carefully to the clients’ needs and thoughtfully given these ideas shape, resulting in a home that is highly functional but also a joy to occupy.
HOUSES 132
ALTERATION + ADDITION
2 Site Floor
430 m² 172 m²
Design 1 y Build 1 y
Per m² $6,000
Products Roofing: Ardex roofing membrane External walls: Frencham Cypress Designaclad shiplap in charred, rough-sawn finish Interna walls: Ubiq Inex Internal Wallboard; Australian Sustainable Hardwoods Victorian ash half rounds in Osmo Polyx-oil Matt Windows: Binq windows in Sikkens timber finish in ‘Ebony’ Doors: Brio Zero Clearance sliding door tracks; custom Archier handles Flooring: Blackbutt in Bona Traffic HD Anti-Slip finish; concrete flooring in Hiperfloor finish with Lithofin MN Stain-Stop penetrative floor sealer Lighting: Archier Highline Kitchen: Fisher and Paykel appliances; Sussex Scala tapware in Living Tumbled Brass Bathroom: Sussex Scala tapware in Living Tumbled Brass; Signorino Desert Silver stone benches; Archier basins; Inax Yohen Border tiles from Artedomus Heating and cooling: Hydrotherm hydronic slab heating Outdoor: Hardscaping by Archier; planting by Phillip Withers Other: Artwork by Greg Wood courtesy James Makin Gallery; Leaf and Thread ceramics
01 Surrounded by lush planting, the kitchen and dining space feels as though it’s nestled within the garden.
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Entry Bedroom Living Sitting Dining Kitchen Pantry Net
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02 The kitchen floor is slightly sunken – a move that encourages social connection with the dining area. Artwork: Greg Wood. 03 A netted hammock across a void at the top of the staircase serves as a rumpus space.
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ALTERATION + ADDITION
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04 The addition to the existing cottage is set over two levels, with a bathroom and bedroom located on the first floor.
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05 A pair of mature fig trees shroud the upstairs bedroom, creating a private sanctuary. Artwork: Greg Wood. 06 Invisible from the street, the neat rear addition seamlessly negotiates its suburban context.
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Architect Archier +61 3 9133 6547 hello@archier.com.au archier.com.au
HOUSES 132
ALTERATION + ADDITION
Project team Chris Gilbert, Josh FitzGerald, Jack Crocker, Alyce Verheijden Builder CBD Contracting Group Engineer Co-struct Landscaping Phillip Withers Landscaper Three Colours Green
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HARRY HOUSE MEET THE OWNERS WORKING WITH AN ARCHITECT
Despite her interest in architecture and design, Tania was initially hesitant to work with an architect when it came to renovating her own home. Here, she speaks with Josh Harris about how, having decided to work with Archier, she would never do a renovation without one. Photography by Peter Bennetts
Josh Harris Could you tell me a little bit about your family’s history with your home. Were you living in the cottage before the alteration? Tania Yes – we bought the house in late 2010 and were living there by early 2011. So we’ve had it for about nine years. JH Did you always know you were looking to engage an architect in your home’s redesign? T No, we didn’t, actually. We knew that we would renovate a few years after we moved in, and I’ve always been interested in architecture and residential design. But originally we’d planned to work with a drafty and a builder and just do it that way. Then I reflected on how I genuinely enjoy architecture and have an appreciation for it, so that’s when we started looking for and talking to architects to engage on the project. We wanted to do this once and do it properly. JH What was it that attracted you to Archier? T I had never worked with an architect before and this was our first renovation. So, I started by calling some firms that I was interested in – some of the more established ones – and they were, fortunately for us, too busy. But they were kind enough to point us in the direction of a website that promotes the work of emerging architects. There, we found a couple of practices that we ended up speaking with, including Archier. During our research, it became clear that not every architect was going to be the right fit for us. We were able
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01 The renovation at Harry House retains the owner's favourite aspects of the home, while adding amenity in a delightful way.
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02 The sunken kitchen was a point of much discussion between architect and client throughout the design process.
HARRY HOUSE
to quickly cross one off the list when we felt like we were talking to a used-car salesman (“Oh yeah, we’ll just stick another box on the back of your box!”). From the beginning, Archier was amazing. Design director Chris Gilbert came over to our place and he was the best prepared of anyone we’d spoken to; he’d looked at old sales listings online and he had a Google Maps snapshot of the house, so he knew the old rooflines and the new rooflines. I liked their aesthetic and ideas, particularly in terms of using raw finishes that are functional. JH I get the sense that it was important to you to have a great rapport with the architect? T Yeah and with Chris I just thought: “I’m going to be able to work with this guy and it’s going to be a fun process” – and it was. JH I understand you had quite strong ideas about how you wanted the house to work. Did Archier challenge some of those ideas or develop them in ways you weren’t expecting? T Oh, absolutely. My ideas weren’t about stipulating a particular floor plan; they were more around how the spaces would function together and how we would utilize those spaces. And I knew I wanted to use honest materials, but the palette that Archier brought in consisted of materials that I would never have thought of or even knew about. A big design decision that we went back and forth on quite a lot was the sunken kitchen, which was something Chris presented early. I honestly didn’t get it for a long time. I would say, “Okay, okay, we’ll do it.” And then I’d think about it more and decide that we wouldn't. Chris and I had that discussion a lot. But we’ve ended up with his vision, with the kitchen stepped down, and it’s amazing! It’s one of my favorite parts of the house. JH You were also clear about wanting a relatively compact footprint, with an efficient plan. How did Archier respond to that brief? T That part of the brief was really important to me. I’ve got Japanese heritage and we have spent time living in Japan. This wasn’t about building a great big showpiece. It was much more about building a home that would function well for us, that was also beautiful while not being decorative. It’s that idea that things that function are also beautiful – that Japanese idea of things. Archier was really good about taking that on board. JH What is it like to live in the house? Do you have any favourite spots, or moments? T I love all of it! I was really keen to keep the sightline – arriving through our front door, you’ve always been able to see right through to a big fig tree out the back and I’m really glad that we’ve kept that. The bedroom is amazing; a quiet little retreat up in the treetop. And then
HOUSES 132
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there’s the kitchen–dining area, which is such a nice space, where there’s never any need to turn lights on during the day – even on dark, cloudy winter mornings. And being in our bathroom feels like we’re in a hotel spa. JH How do the kids like it? T The boys love it. It’s interesting to see because my kids don’t have an overt interest in architecture, but they really respond to the spaces. My husband doesn’t have a particular interest in design either, but he really appreciates it. When we go on holiday, in the last few days he’ll say, “Oh, I’m really looking forward to getting home.”
With Chris I just thought: “I’m going to be able to work with this guy and it’s going to be a fun process” – and it was.
JH Do the boys use the netting over the void? Yep, they’ve had sleep overs in it and they hang out in it. One of my boys is a big reader and he’ll curl up there with a book. And sometimes they wrestle on it – I don't know if they’re supposed to do that or not! JH Would you use an architect again? T Absolutely, yes. In fact, I can’t see that I would ever do a renovation without one. JH What advice would you give to others looking to engage an architect? T I would recommend they choose a practitioner who, not only has a visual style that they appreciate, but who is someone that they can get along with and work with over a long period of time. Because it can take years!
WORKING WITH AN ARCHITECT
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Olaver Architecture O N E T O W AT C H
Drawing on a diverse range of influences, including French New Wave film and inner-city skateboarding, Olaver Architecture, founded in 2015, has a growing portfolio of tightly choreographed and thoughtfully detailed projects. Words by Peter Davies Photography by Josh Robenstone
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Skateboarding the ledges and steps of Melbourne’s CBD might seem an unusual starting point for design thinking. But for a pre-teen Emlyn Olaver, it drew his attention to the wonders and complexities of the built environment that surrounded him. “Skating is all about using the built environment as your playground – and spending time in the city as a kid really influenced me early on,” he says. “The really lovely thing about skating is that it gives you an appreciation for the mundane, for the interstitial, for making the most of all the spaces in between.” That same respect for small details is evident in much of the work produced by his Melbourne-based practice today. For this is not architecture that defines itself through grand gestures; rather, its drama, its excitement, lives in small details thoughtfully realized but perhaps only truly appreciated by those lucky enough to occupy the finished product. See, for example, the polished concrete plinth at North Fitzroy House that slides the length of a sunken lounge before joining the floor of the double-height dining room. Its tactile finish juxtaposes elegantly with the rough clay bricks of the living room’s floor. Or, another example: a slender steel sheet, sculpted into a continuous balustrade, that wraps up and around a staircase in Sherwood House, its fineness giving little hint of its material strength. “The plan, the context and the orientation often tell us what the material needs to be. Once you have that overarching materiality, it tends to resolve itself,” he says. “If a house wants to be lightweight, then it wants to be lightweight, and we’ll deal with that. If it wants to be masonry, then it wants be masonry.” There is a narrative quality to the way Emlyn describes the work of his five-person practice, and it’s perhaps not surprising to learn that his early study in cinema continues to shape his thinking about architecture and occupation. “Throughout the process, we always think about how things play out in the space. As I get to know the client and they talk about how they use their house day-to-day, I’m literally
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drawing a storyboard in my head,” he says. He lists the French New Wave film movement – and its focus on juxtaposition – as a key influence. “It’s very much about shaking up the way two scenes or shots go together, and that’s something I dwell on a bit.” Another constant in the practice’s work is its commitment to rigorous planning. “Good plans are really important to me – you shouldn’t get as excited about finding the right spot for a door as I do,” Emlyn jokes. “I really like to work in section, as well. While the plan might be relatively straightforward, I’ll always try to play with section if the opportunity presents itself – raising or lowering the ceiling, stepping up or stepping down.” In the early days of his architectural career, Emlyn worked with Rob Kennon, an experience that instilled in him an attention to detail and an unwillingness to relinquish what he’s aiming for. “Rob’s an amazing architect and I learnt a lot from him. That period was a foundational aspect of my career.” Time at Technē, work with modular housing system Archiblox and tutoring at the University of Melbourne further refined his approach to residential design, before he established Olaver Architecture. A parallel thread in all this is a string of wellreceived hospitality projects. One of his earliest was Shop Ramen, a bustling staple of Collingwood’s popular Smith Street, and he recently completed Lagoon Dining in nearby Lygon Street, Carlton. This commercial work acts as a testing ground for his residential projects, he explains. “I love designing a kitchen – everyone loves that! – and having that hospitality background certainly helps,” Emlyn says. “You think about different ways that things could be done, about how the kitchen might flow. A lot of clients want their kitchen to be centre-stage, so we think a lot about how the kitchen can be that theatre.” What unites your oeuvre, I ask? “It’s probably a strange one to hang your hat on, but I like imperfections,” he says. “Our work often draws attention to them, and I think there’s such beauty in the imperfect and the unexpected.” olaver.com.au
OLAVER ARCHITECTURE
01 Emlyn Olaver founded Olaver Architecture after garnering valuable design experience.
03 Each house by Olaver Architecture is conceived of as a storyboard for the home's inhabitants.
02 When designing kitchens, Olaver Architecture like to consider the potential "theatre" of the space. Artwork: Christopher Day.
04 The varied ceiling, floor and light levels at North Fitzroy House create shifting atmospheres. Artwork: Josh Robenstone.
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ONE TO WATCH
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Bookshelf
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01 Green: Plants for Small Spaces, Indoors and Out by Jason Chongue (Hardie Grant Books, 2019) Back with his second book, stylist and gardening enthusiast Jason Chongue thinks our homes, shops, and offices need more greenery. Plants, he says, invite a sense of calm, “creating a retreat where we can switch off, drowning out the city noises with the rustling of leaves.” But what if the rustling of leaves gives way to the thud of a pot plant hitting the bottom of a wheelie bin, as we dispose of yet another dead peace lily? Luckily, Chongue has some answers. Green offers a refreshingly clear introduction to the basics of nurturing plants in small spaces. It helps the green-curious understand their particular climate and the plants most likely to thrive in it; it gives tips on styling and plant care; and it offers a crash course in what to do in an emergency (“Don’t panic!” says Chongue. “Plants are stronger than we think they are.”) Much like Chongue’s previous book, Plant Society, Green is charmingly personal. Chongue describes his lifelong appreciation of plants, and the leap of faith he and his partner Nathan Smith took in starting their own business, the Plant Society. Not only enjoyable, Green might also save the life of a neglected peace lily or two.
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02 The House of Glam: Lush Interiors and Design Extravaganza edited by Robert Klanten and Andrea Servert (Gestalten, 2019) Interspersed through The House of Glam are a series of double-page spreads, each devoted to a quote from a well known interior designer or thinker. The first of these is from British minimalist designer John Pawson: “Minimalism is not defined by what is not there but by the rightness of what is and the richness with which this is experienced.” It’s a good joke. Because no matter how “right” the glamorous, extravagant interiors presented here are, you’d be hard-pressed to call them minimalist. Gracing the cover is the home of designer Géraldine Prieur, an apartment in a grand Haussmann building in the heart of Paris. Against a backdrop of neoclassical wood panelling and ornate mouldings, Prieur has introduced into each room “a riot of hues” along with ultra-contemporary furnishings, including oversized ant sculptures scrambling up the living room wall. It’s an opulent, dizzying project. But it’s understated compared to some of the other works presented. This book won’t be for everyone, but if, like Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass, you yearn for the “sensual and exciting” in interior design, it may well appeal.
03 Sean Godsell: Houses by Sean Godsell (Thames and Hudson, 2019) Sean Godsell’s work – and in particular his houses – can be confounding for those looking in from the outside. With their stubbornly rectilinear form and lack of recognizable apertures, at first glance, his designs might not appear as houses at all. As Philip Goad writes in his excellent introductory essay to this book, each of Godsell’s houses is, more or less, “a veiled, single-room-thickness rod or block, stretched horizontally, extruded vertically, sometimes elevated or partially incised into the landscape.” For more than twenty-five years, this essential form has been the starting point for Godsell’s exploration of Australian residential architecture, its relationship to landscape and identity, and its place in the wider region. Sean Godsell: Houses offers a survey of this work, tracing the subtle evolutions and variations that have played out across spectacular rural and seaside landscapes, as well as, occasionally, in the suburbs. Godsell has also provided his own essay on his idea of “local” architecture. But it is the photographs and plans that best tell the story of his oeuvre – a story of remarkably consistent, constant work.
READING
04 Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses by Dominic Bradbury (Phaidon Press, 2019) With more than 400 buildings from more than 290 architects across forty-plus countries, Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses is an impressive compendium. Perhaps the most comprehensive listing of houses in this style ever published, it is, like other books in Phaidon’s atlas series – such as 2018’s Atlas of Brutalist Architecture – well researched, eclectic and engagingly presented. In the editor’s words, the book “showcases work by such icons as Marcel Breuer, Richard Neutra, Alvar Aalto, and Oscar Niemeyer alongside extraordinary but virtually unknown houses in Australia, Africa, and Asia.” Eighteen Australian houses are featured, including projects by the big names – Robin Boyd, Roy Grounds, Harry Seidler, Peter McIntyre et al. – but also by lesser known architects, such as Stan Symonds. Projects are organized geographically, and useful information is provided about the status of the houses today – are they in use? Heritage listed? Scheduled for demolition? The atlas reveals the regional and temporal particularities and variations in mid-century modern architecture, as well as the common themes that continue to influence how we live today.
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Turn up the heat
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From overhead storage to modular cooktops to clever wine cabinets with multiple temperature zones, these kitchen products will enliven and enrich any home. Find more residential products: selector.com and productnews.com.au
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01 My Top ceramic slabs Large-format ceramic tiles by Italian company Fondovalle offer a flexible and long-lasting alternative to marble. Available in a range of colour-printed designs, the tiles are suitable for kitchens, bathrooms and other wet areas, including outdoor spaces. parisi.com.au
03 Vido flexible hose sink mixer Sporting a swivel spout and an environmentally friendly five-star WELS rating, the Vido sink mixer is available in three distinctive finishes: ‘Chrome,’ ‘Brushed Nickel’ and ‘Matte Black.’ A detachable hose and a fixed-pin lever handle add both functionality and style. phoenixtapware.com.au
02 Inax tiles The exquisite tiles from Japanese brand Inax are inspired by traditional motifs and created with intricate shapes. Carefully calculated thicknesses on tiles like Terrarossa (pictured) create textured effects that encourage the play of light and shadow. artedomus.com
04 Tête à Tête wine cabinet Up to twelve bottles of wine can be stored in this beautiful and petit wine cabinet, which can stand alone or be built into kitchen joinery. Multiple temperature zones allow both red and white wines to be kept at an ideal drinking temperature, ready to serve. eurocave.com.au
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PRODUCTS
05 Innotech Atira drawer system Straight lines and clean contours characterize the Atira drawer system, which has a sleek design that fits into any home situation and offers a wide variety of options for organizing drawers and pull-outs. Finishes are available in ‘White,’ ‘Silver’ and ‘Anthracite.’ hettich.com
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06 Staron solid surfaces Pictured here in ‘Terrazzo Venezia,’ solid surfaces from Staron can be used to create monolithic flowing features like benchtops, splashbacks and vanities. More than ninety colour selections are available to complement the palettes of any design project. staron.com.au
08 Dekton Slim ultra-thin surface Dekton Slim is a new ultrafine surface for sleek, minimalistic design at just 4 mm thick, it is ideal for projects that require high performance and lightweight, durable materials. Nine colour options ensure that Dekton Slim can cater for a wide range of styles and settings. cosentino.com/en-au
07 The RIG modular system RIG by MA/U Studio, available from Boffi in Australia, is designed for use in areas adjacent to the kitchen. Thin black hardware defines its customizable components, which include dividers, cutlery holders, ladle racks, traditional shelves, and storage for bottles and stemware. maustudio.net
09 Pro series fridge/freezer Crafted with stainless steel inside and out, refrigerators and freezers in Sub-Zero’s Pro series feature a luxurious and professional aesthetic. A compact new option is 91 cm wide and offers novel design opportunities for small and large kitchens alike. au.subzero-wolf.com
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KITCHEN PRODUCTS
10 Vario 200 modular cooktops New Vario 200 series cooktops form a compact modular system that, when assembled, ranges in scale from 28 cm to 60 cm. Induction and gas cooktops sit comfortably alongside specialized options that include an electric grill and a teppanyaki hob. gaggenau.com.au
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11 Nexus SE cooker Falcon’s Nexus SE is an update to the bestselling Nexus range cooker. Featuring a sleek and sophisticated modern design, the Nexus SE offers telescopic oven shelving and a symmetrical door arrangement of two upper drop-downs and two lower side-openings. andico.com.au
13 Aventos HK overhead cabinets Aventos HK overhead cabinets lift up and out of the way, allowing users easy access to cabinet contents without restricting movement. New, smaller cover caps are available in white, light grey or dark grey. All the colour options have a sleek look and a clean-cut design. blum.com
12 Toledo surfaces Four colour profiles inspired by European destinations make Toledo stone surfaces an evocative addition to any kitchen space. Colour ‘Dolce Vita Crema’ (pictured) was inspired by the sunbaked, ancient stones of the collection’s eponymous citadel. smartstone.com.au
14 Integrated French door fridge Pictured at Hahei House by Studio 2 Architects, the Fisher and Paykel integrated French door fridge is designed to fit flush with kitchen cabinetry for a seamless look. It uses smart technology to cool and defrost only when necessary. Photograph: Simon Wilson. fisherpaykel.com/au
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PRODUCTS
15 Reclaimed Denim Fibre laminate Laminex proves that stunning surfaces don’t have to cost the environment: 60 percent of its Reclaimed Denim Fibre laminate is made with offcuts from clothing production. Boasting a classic indigo hue, the surface is unmistakably reminiscent of a favourite pair of blue jeans. laminex.com.au
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architecture.com.au
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Pinch FURNITURE AND LIGHTING DESIGNER
Embodying a penchant for elegant forms and colours, and for finding luxury in simplicity, Pinch designs pieces that respect and enhance the spaces they inhabit. Words by Leanne Amodeo
If any practice has good reason to celebrate, it’s Pinch. The London-based design studio, founded by husband and wife Russell Pinch and Oona Bannon, has officially been in business for 15 years. And what better way to commemorate the anniversary than with the launch of six products at the 2019 London Design Festival? This new furniture collection represents a coming of age for the studio and also throws the spotlight on its recently opened Ebury Street showroom. It’s somewhat of a watershed moment for Russell and Oona, who have made a name for themselves through a singular commitment to refined detailing, exquisite craftsmanship and high-end materiality, as well as an unmatched respect for the interiors their pieces will eventually occupy. “Even though we design things for different spaces, we believe space is the real luxury,” explains Oona, who is the studio’s creative director, alongside Russell, the designer. “And in thinking about how a product will inhabit a space, we’re all about lightness of touch, because space is important and you don’t want to suck it up for no reason.” The couple’s design process begins with a discussion springing from their collective imagination and quickly moves to Russell sketching with pencil on paper, and model making. His 1:5-scale models typify the studio’s commitment to crafting by hand; they convey a stylistic minimalism that’s rendered with architectural rigour. This sensibility is especially evident in the new collection: the
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Christo four-poster bed is all the more resplendent for its pared-back theatricality, and the true beauty of the Rodan dining table is found in the way the solid base champions the inherent qualities of either European oak or American walnut. These two pieces embody the studio’s penchant for elegant forms and colours, for finding a balance between simplicity and complexity. Progressing their design language so that they may more clearly articulate their ideas is what motivates Russell and Oona, along with consideration for the end user. “We can all be guilty of over-designing things, especially in a crowded market that outwardly values conceptual layering, but I don’t think that’s what people want,” says Oona. “They want gentleness and poise in a piece of furniture that’s definable, without it being something that’ll visually knock them over the head.” Certainly, the Roubel sofa follows this approach. With its understated but glamorous interpretation of the Chesterfield style and coupling of traditional and modern aesthetics, it’s the studio’s strongest statement to date. Russell and Oona collaborate with 14 makers and craftspeople across the UK and Europe to produce their furniture; this commitment to craft shows, and the new collection is exemplary in its level of artisanal skill. Each product is unfalteringly well resolved, not to mention highly covetable. pinchdesign.com
STUDIO
01 Russell Pinch and Oona Bannon are celebrating 15 years since the foundation of their Londonbased design studio. 02 One of six new pieces launched by Pinch at the 2019 London Design Festival, the Christo four-poster bed offers pared-back theatricality. 03 The Rodan dining table is grounded by a solid base that champions the inherent material qualities of timber.
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B O Z E N’S C O T TA G E B Y TAY L O R & HINDS A R C H I TECTS
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A dexterous restoration of a Georgian cottage in an historic Tasmanian village is executed in timber and mild steel – materials that pay tribute to the past and the story of those who have lived there.
Words by Stuart King Photography by Adam Gibson
In the backstreets of Oatlands, a small town in Tasmania’s midlands renowned for its collection of early-nineteenth-century Georgian buildings, you’ll stumble across Bozen’s Cottage. It’s a tiny sandstone house that was built for one Jane Pain in the early 1840s, who made a new home for herself in Van Diemen’s Land in her early seventies. One hundred and eighty-odd years later, with the house well-worn and buckled with time, Taylor and Hinds Architects has conserved and inlaid its structure and spaces for contemporary living, intimately engaging everyday histories of the place, building and its inhabitants. The Georgian cottage sits close to the street, with outbuildings splayed around it on a sparsely planted block. It’s a proud building with a high hipped roof giving a sense of dignity to the two front rooms and relaxing to skillion over the two back rooms. In this project, the cottage has been returned to this original form by shaving off a twentieth-century extension and creating a sheltered courtyard and terrace with bricks from a demolished fireplace. Another fireplace is retained, standing sentinel in tribute to the past and the process of transformation. This intertwining of the cottage’s past and present defines the house. The buckled eastern wall required rebuilding, and it is here that the cottage’s most idiosyncratic intervention occurs: a contemporary large-format window spans two rooms, connecting them to the outdoors. (Apparently the new window has been hotly debated by locals at Oatland’s Midlands Hotel). But it’s a layer of palimpsest – a new window where Georgian windows and walling were once replaced with Victorian counterparts, perhaps an earlier measure to save the wall as it began to bend. The new accommodation is arranged within the cottage’s original four rooms, the only addition being a new back porch. At the front, a bedroom and
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Bozen’s Cottage is built on the land of the Poredareme of the Oyster Bay nation
2 Oatlands, Tas
Alteration + addition
1
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library are separated by a short entry hallway. Behind are the living room and kitchen. A fifth room, a “secret” ensuite bathroom, is concealed between the bedroom and the kitchen. It borrows space from the kitchen but is entered from the bedroom, disguised by a panelled door detailed to match the adjacent walls. It’s an artful conceit that speaks to the integrity and modesty of the historic four-room cottage. The interiors, then, entail repairing and reinterpreting – not reconstructing – the materials and techniques of colonial builders, who had sought to define volumes, edges and openings in pursuit of a Georgian aesthetic. In the hallway, damaged layers of floor coverings, wallpapers and hessian have been peeled back to reveal pit-sawn floorboards and original wall linings of Baltic pine. In the principal rooms, new layers have been added, including bench and window seats, shelves and linings. The walls have been finished with a new veneer of Tasmanian oak ply, detailed to frame the existing skirtings, doors, windows and original boarded ceilings above. Throughout, an off-the-shelf Georgian moulding is used in new ways that extend from an understanding of its role in the original making of the cottage’s rooms. While clear finishes are used on the new timber linings and their details, the ceilings are painted in shades of greens identified from salvaged wallpapers. Such continuities linking old and new in the cottage are always conversational, collapsing time and, almost miraculously, expanding space within the tiny building. These “conversations” include the telling of stories researched by the cottage’s owners, Doug and Alison Bridge. The original owner Jane Pain died in 1844 and the cottage was bequeathed to her son, John, a carpenter, and his wife Mary. It was subsequently sold several times until it was purchased in 1903 by George Pennicott, an Oatlands blacksmith. George built a forge, and the cottage remained in his family for the next 114 years, bequeathed to his son Ernest, a blacksmith and timber yard worker, and his wife Alice, and then to their son Bozen, who called the cottage home until 2017, and who is now remembered as its namesake. The new architecture at Bozen’s or, more familiarly, Bo’s cottage is the work of two trades, carpentry and metalwork, representing the craft of those who have lived there. A folded mild steel plate awning smartly shelters the front door. In the kitchen, the bench and splashback are formed by another folded steel plate, held off the sandstone walls which are highlighted by concealed lighting behind the splashback. Behind, Tasmanian oak shelves are supported on rows of marching timber dowels. Throughout there is a palpable joy in the details designed by Taylor and Hinds and interpreted by the cottage’s latest builders. Leaving the cottage, there is an axe handle embedded in the new back door. It’s a fitting detail for a place where the winters are cold, fires roar and chopping wood is a daily chore. This detail is borrowed rather than invented. It is an everyday builder’s embellishment that can be seen in cottages and sheds across the island. It’s another piece in a multi-layered tribute to place, understood through the making of everyday lives and buildings.
HOUSES 132
ALTERATION + ADDITION
1 Site 10,195 m² Floor 93 m²
Design 1 y Build 9 m
Products Roofing: Fielders Heritage Barrel Rolled in galvanised finish External walls: Existing sandstone; recycled timber lining in Cutek Extreme protection oil Internal walls: Structural plywood with Tasmanian oak and hardwood veneers in Whittle Waxes Hardwax oil Windows: Custom Cabinets hardwood windows in Cutek Extreme protection oil; Viridian Comfortplus laminated glazing Doors: Custom Cabinets ledged and braced doors in Cutek Extreme protection oil and solid hardwood four-panel door in Resene Coolcolour ‘Black’; Traditional Hardware Co door knobs and locks in ‘Antique Brass’ Flooring: Original boards in Feast Watson Tung Oil finish Lighting: Brass bulkhead light from Classic Boat Supplies; Unios Shift Out downlight; Astro Leo Switched LED reading lights; Traditional Hardware Co light switches and power points in ‘Antique Brass’ Kitchen: Fisher and Paykel oven, induction cooktop and rangehood; Hisense fridge; Wellington Steelworks mild steel cabinetry in waxed finish; Faucet Strommen Pegasi Msink mixer in ‘Antique Brass Medium’ Bathroom: Faucet Strommen shower rose and mixer in ‘Antique Brass Medium’; Astra Walker wall-hung toilet; Nagoya Mosaic-Tile Kayoborder tiles 01 New layers, including window seats, shelves and linings, have been added to the living spaces.
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A fireplace has been retained, standing sentinel in tribute to the past and the process of transformation.
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02 A back porch is the only new addition to the four rooms that constitute the original residence. 03 The steel-plate kitchen bench and splashback acknowledges one of the previous owners, a local blacksmith. 04 When layers of floor coverings were peeled back, pit-sawn floorboards were revealed.
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05 The shades of green paint used on the ceilings, identified from salvaged wallpapers, link old and new. 06 Timber dowels support Tasmanian oak shelves in the library and oak ply lines the walls. 07 A large-format window spanning the lounge and the library connects the interior to the outdoors.
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Architect Taylor and Hinds Architects +61 3 6287 7024 contactus@taylorandhinds.com.au taylorandhinds.com.au
HOUSES 132
ALTERATION + ADDITION
Project team Mat Hinds, Poppy Taylor, Ken Beheim-Schwarzbach Builder Jackman Builders Engineer Aldanmark Consulting Engineers Window and door joiner Custom Cabinets Joiner Dickens Constructions Blacksmith Wellington Steelworks
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HOUSE L I NC O LN BY T HO S E ARC H I TECTS
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HOUSE LINCOLN
Rather than move from their beloved mid-century house on Sydney’s North Shore, a young family opted to transform their “brick box” into a generous home, designed to serve them for years to come.
Words by Sing d’Arcy Photography by Luc Remond
There are many factors that make a home special. Sometimes it’s the memories, or the neighbourhood, or perhaps a view. However, as much as you might like your home, if it’s not working for you at a particular stage in life it raises the question: what to do? Move to a more suitable house? Or make the place you love work? Those Architects addressed these questions for a growing family in Sydney’s leafy North Shore with a rebuild that meant the family could stay put in the home that they knew – but now in a house that they loved. The original house could be described as “curious.” The mid-twentieth-century red-brick house is perched high on a steep embankment that tumbles down to gum tree-filled bushland. A semicircular prow bulges out from the facade and is capped by a hipped roof that sits flat like a lid. The house as it was had a southerly aspect that was directed towards the bush, while to the north it was blocked in by a lean-to. For a family with young children, the house just wasn’t working and didn’t take advantage of the picturesque setting.
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The clients were on the hunt for an architect to help them transform their brick box into a twentyfirst-century house. They had seen the work of Those Architects and were impressed by the practice’s approach. Simon Addinall, director at the practice, said the client came to them with an initial idea for reordering the house and site. After some consultation and careful analysis of the site and difficult terrain, Those Architects flipped the client’s ideas on their heads – literally. In order to fully take advantage of the existing structure of the house, as well as the northerly aspect to the rear, an L-shaped configuration was proposed. The children’s zone would be housed in a two-storey tower at the back, the semicircular prow would become the parents’ zone and the body of the house would be the central living and kitchen area. This straightforward but effective spatial organization can be seen to embody the approach of Those Architects – maximize light and air, minimize circulation, connect all interior spaces to the exterior. Nowhere is this seen better than in the central living space. Where once there had been a few poky windows
ALTERATION + ADDITION
01 Beautifully detailed with bullnose corners and brickclad reveals, the new “children’s tower” is connected physically to the courtyard and visually to the main hub of the home. 02 The living space is crowned by a north-facing lantern that scoops toward the sky, bouncing light off curves in the ceiling. Artwork: Kirsty Budge.
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House Lincoln is built on the land of the Cammeraygal people of the Eora nation
4 Sydney, NSW
Alteration + addition
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Family
to the south, now a large section of glazing opens onto a balcony that fronts a beautiful angophora, with glimpses of the harbour in the distance. To the northern side, the lean-to has been removed and large sliding doors open the room completely to the courtyard area. The most spectacular feature in the living space is the north-facing lantern that scoops in the sky and bounces light off the series of curved elements. The double aspect of this space, plus the theatrics of the lantern, make it a wonderful place to be. One of the clients is a chef so the kitchen is an important part of the room. Elba marble and soft grey joinery complement moss-green highlights in the rest of the space. The original house is floored with blackbutt timber, and the new tower and courtyard in concrete. In the parents’ zone, at the curved front of the old house, all the original plaster cornices have been kept, as well as the steel windows that look onto the trees. Being elevated from the street means that the bedroom can fully exploit the glazing without compromising privacy. The children’s tower is connected physically to the courtyard and visually to the living space. If the parents want a bit of peace and quiet the tower can be closed off by sliding doors. This tactic has been used in the living space and the parents’ zone as well, allowing for different visual and spatial configurations to be implemented depending on who wants to be where at any given time. The moss green from the living space is intensified into a forest green carpet that leads to the upper bedrooms. From the exterior, the tower is beautifully detailed with bullnose-corners and brickclad reveals. It sits well between the embankment and the existing house forming a stepped gradation of elements. The architects tried to select a brick colour as close to the original as possible, so that the new tower would read cohesively with the existing house. Taking cues from the brick and the surrounding gum trees, the trims and gutters are painted in an ochre red. Those Architects used very familiar schoolyard-style fencing to enclose the pool. Powdercoated in red, this everyday material shows its versatility and the robust nature of the architects’ approach to materiality and detail. The clients couldn’t be happier with their old home and new house. They still have that great view, the lovely neighbours and the smell of gum trees. Architects aim to make people’s lives better through good design – Those Architects has accomplished this.
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03 There is a sunlit bathroom on each level of the children’s wing, servicing the bedrooms and the ground-floor rumpus room. 04 The original home’s semicircular prow has been converted into a parents’ retreat, with views to gum treefilled bushland below.
HOUSE LINCOLN
668 m² 185 m²
Design 9 m Build 1 y
Products Roofing: Lysaght Klip-lok roofing in Colorbond ‘Windspray’ and gutters and flashings in Colorbond ‘Manor Red’ External walls: Bowral Bricks dry-pressed bricks in ‘Gertrudis Brown’; roughcast render; painted fibre cement in Dulux ‘Red Box’; painted render in Dulux Weathershield ‘Fair Bianca Half’ Internal walls and ceilings: White set render walls, and plasterboard walls and ceilings in Dulux Wash and Wear ‘Fair Bianca White’ Windows: B and W Aluminium Windows and Doors powdercoated aluminium-framed windows Doors: B and W Aluminium Windows and Doors powdercoated aluminium-framed doors; Parisi door hardware Flooring: Blackbutt floor in Bona Naturale treatment; honed concrete; Tretford goats’ wool carpet in ‘Silver Birch’, ‘Magenta’ and ‘Evergreen’; Winckelmans tiles in ‘Pistachio’ and ‘Black’ from Olde English Tiles Lighting: Artemide wall and external lights; JSB Lighting LED strip lights; Louis Poulsen AJ Floor lamp and Nemo Parliament Floor Lamp from Cult; Flos Snoopy table light from Euroluce Kitchen: Custom 2-pac joinery in Dulux ‘Paramount Design’ by Luke Geercke Cabinetmakers; Artedomus Elba Honed benchtops; Abey sink and tapware; Miele oven and cooktop; Falmec rangehood; Bosch dishwasher; Fisher and Paykel fridge/freezer Bathroom: Surface Gallery terrazzo floor tiles and ceramic wall tiles; Duravit basins; Sussex tapware and towel rails in ‘Matt Black’; Kaldewei bath; Parisi Linfa toilet Heating and cooling: Mitsubishi Electric air-conditioner Other: Hay Palissade outdoor furniture; Louis Poulsen AJ floor lamp by Arne Jacobsen from Cult; Moroso Net table from Hub
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HOUSES 132
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Entry Kitchen Dining Living Bedroom Walk-in robe Rumpus Laundry Courtyard Pool Lawn Driveway
First floor 1:500
ALTERATION + ADDITION
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05 The tower sits comfortably between the steep rear embankment and the original house, forming a stepped gradation of elements.
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Architect Those Architects +61 416 235 661 gday@thosearchitects.com.au thosearchitects.com.au
HOUSE LINCOLN
Project team Simon Addinall, Ben Mitchell, Emiliano Miranda, Luke Hallaways Builder Harding and Lindsay Building Engineer Harrison and Morris Consultancy Hydraulic engineer ITM Design Stylist Felicity Ng
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HOUSES 132
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SURFSIDE HOUSE BY A N D R E W BURGES A RC H I TECTS
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Suggesting a new neighbourhood character for its beachside Sydney suburb, the tower-like form of this compact family home comprises a series of levels and garden platforms that respond to its coastal hillside site.
Words by Casey Bryant Photography by Peter Bennetts
Clovelly – like most of Sydney’s eastern beach suburbs – is a tightly packed valley huddled around the beach below. The beach itself fronts a long channel of water spearing inland, creating layers of homes all looking at each other, stacked up and up among established banksia trees. It is a great place to raise a family, but there is no space for the typical suburban dream of a backyard and swings. Instead, the community spills out onto the streets and down to the water – and, in turn, the beach lifestyle spills into the home. Surfside House by Andrew Burges Architects is home to a family of five, although this is not apparent from its tight footprint and compact gardens. The house is a conversion of a semi-detached dwelling, where the existing single-storey building has been converted into bedrooms and a new open living space has been added above. Downstairs, existing high ceilings bring spaciousness to otherwise small rooms. Three bedrooms arranged around a central stair and study use overly wide doors to share light and extend the sense of space. A main bedroom faces the street, while to the rear two children’s rooms open onto a small garden. These bedrooms also open to each other and this, combined with the generous allocation of doors throughout, helps make the downstairs feel as if it stretches on forever. The rooms themselves are quite small and rely on built-in sleeping lofts that make clever use of the available height. Each of the three kids gets their own private high space, complete with a little window out.
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01 A new open living space above the existing semidetached cottage adds spaciousness to this compact home.
Surfside House is built on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation
5 Sydney, NSW
Alteration + addition
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Family
In these ground-level rooms, the ceiling jumps up and down in a curious manner. This defines spaces with bulkheads and thresholds and manipulates the natural light, creating pockets of shadow. Often, architects look to get rid of bulkheads, but here, the effect extends the spaces and makes the rooms feel discrete, even when all the doors are open. In contrast to the rooms below, the first-floor living room is a singular open space. Huge windows face the ocean and bring the views and breezes in. Close treetops and new planter beds set against the windows bring greenery right up to the room, while timber walls and sliding screens give a treehouse-like quality to the space. A rear deck extends from the kitchen and brings yet more planting into the room with its built-in garden beds. The kitchen, dining and lounge spaces are collected below a raked ceiling that lifts to a generous corner skylight. The uninterrupted sculptural ceiling sails overhead and makes the room feel large and spacious. The kitchen joinery has a quality of bespoke furniture – which is quite appropriate for this cooking-focused family, who see this space as the heart of the home. Often, a large, open room with big windows can feel cold and exposed. In this case, however, careful decisions about the edges of the room have created a cosy and inviting series of spaces. Most of the upper-level windows are set within deep reveals and there is an ease with which you are drawn to sit at a windowsill to chat with someone in the kitchen. In the middle of the room, a handful of steps combines with a low credenza to separate eating and lounging spaces. This is enough to zone the spaces and create a sense of being held by the timber furniture, without splitting the room up unnecessarily. Clovelly – again, like most of Sydney’s east – has been heavily developed since its humble beginnings. Once characterized by simple cottages, the area now teems with units, duplexes and large contemporary homes, as everyone strives to be close to the beach. This phenomena has been exacerbated recently by the state government’s “Complying development” planning controls, which allow dwellings (such as this one) to be approved without submitting to the local council, meaning houses can be made without detailed consideration of the neighbourhood character. Any contextual unity in the types of houses here has been lost. Surfside House wilfully departs from the once-established character of its context. It presents as a tower-like form standing in a gap in a row of huge banksia trees. It is clad in hardwood boards, punctuated by the large living room window. The roof is clean and crisp, and raised planters adorn the building’s sides. It is very different to the existing brick cottage, with its small windows and tiled roof. Instead, it seems the intent is for the house to relate to the rich vegetation that overgrows the hills of the eastern suburbs. The timber cladding finds a harmony with the giant banksias and the built-in planters blend with the tree canopy. While this rich collection of rooms may have an overt appearance, perhaps it is a chance to consider a new form for the neighbourhood character, and new priorities for the area. Surfside House has reformed a crumbling and dark old cottage and allowed a growing family to remain in their local community.
HOUSES 132
ALTERATION + ADDITION
2 Site Floor
270 m² 175 m²
Design 3 y Build 11 m
Products Roofing: Lysaght Custom Orb in Colorbond ‘Shale Grey’ External walls: Painted brick commons in Dulux ‘Natural White’; Australian Architectural Hardwoods Pre Aged Grey Karri boards; existing rendered walls in Dulux ‘Green Ash’ Internal walls: Painted brick commons in Dulux ‘Natural White’; Easycraft Easy VJ in Dulux ‘Natural White’; Euroset Proyalbi Fino plaster with clear sealer Windows and Doors: A&G Fabrications black anodized aluminium; custom Victorian ash timber doors by Stockwells Joinery in Intergrain Nature’s Timber Oil Flooring: Tongue n Groove Eterno Piccolo floorboards in ‘Bistre’ Lighting: Igguzzini View Opti Linear; Rakumba Highline by Archier; Gubi Semi pendant; Anchor Ceramics Potter Light and Potter Halo; Muuto Ambit pendant and E27 pendant; Flos Mini Glo-Ball Kitchen: Miele fridge, freezer and oven; Asko dishwasher; Pitt Drum cooktop; Condari Qasair rangehood; Blanco subline sink in ‘Anthracite’; Brodware City Stik Kitchen Mixer in ‘Weathered Brass Organic’; Artedomus Artetech benchtops in ‘Terra Nero’; custom European oak veneer joinery with white oil finish by Intermic Bathroom: Brodware City Stik tapware in ‘Weathered Brass Organic’; Studio Bagno Shard basin; Duravit Me by Starck toilet; Montauk Black slate floor tiles and Manual Blanco wall tiles from Bisanna Heating and cooling: Skantherm Shaker slow combustion wood heater from Oblica; Big Ass Fans Haiku ceiling fan External elements: timber decking by Robert Plumb Build; custom steel pergola and balustrades by Alsop Engineering Other: Custom timber battened sliding screen, American oak stair balustrade and window seat by Cranbrook Workshop
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SURFSIDE HOUSE
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Entry Bedroom Deck Music room and robe Study Living Kitchen Dining Pantry
02 The kitchen, dining and lounge spaces are collected below a raked ceiling that lifts to a generous skylight.
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03 Deep reveals edge the living room windows, coaxing you to recline in conversation as you take in the view. 04 Visible through a gap in a row of mature banksia trees, the home’s tower-like form is punctuated by the living room window.
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ALTERATION + ADDITION
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05 Spaces are configured around a new central stair that, on the first floor, is flanked by the powder room and the kitchen. 06 Downstairs in the children’s bedrooms, elevated sleeping nooks leave the floor space free for play. 07 The two rear bedrooms are connected to a deck and terraced garden through a series of oversized openings.
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SURFSIDE HOUSE
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Architect Andrew Burges Architects +61 2 9331 7433 aba@aba-architects.com.au aba-architects.com.au
HOUSES 132
ALTERATION + ADDITION
Project team Andrew Burges, Min Dark, Alexandra Wilson, Isabell Adam, Lucas MacMillan, Chris Mullaney, Eric Ye, Louise Lovmand Builder Robert Plumb Build Engineer SDA Structures
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Model: 30942-84
AN ORIGINAL PIECE OF ICONIC DESIGN Crafted from solid brass, knurled to a fine pitch and finished in Faucet Strommen’s organic Antique Brass Light, this new basin mixer features sophisticated and minimalist design to create an iconic piece in modern bathrooms. This model is part of a new comprehensive range covering bathroom and kitchen and is available in a raft of beautiful finishes. Designed and built by hand in Australia, this mixer uses a progressive valve for simple turn-only action.
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Hand built in Australia
MA Architects IN PROFILE
For more than a decade, Melbourne-based MA Architects has been producing rigorously organized, high-quality housing that carefully integrates with its context. Words by Marcus Baumgart Photography by Derek Swalwell
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MA Architects (MAA) is at a turning point, and interesting things happen at turns. Practice director, Karen Alcock, describes the firm as now leaving its “teenage” years, ready to evolve its language and move on to new things. Established in 2008, MAA grew out of ten years’ tenure at well-known Melbourne development company Neometro. This journey has left its mark. MAA was built on many lessons well-learnt in the trenches of residential development at Neometro, and a relationship still exists between the two companies – but it is fair to say that in the hands of Karen and her young team, the characteristic language of the Neometro years is transforming. One lesson brought by Karen into MAA was a simple one, but it remains resonant throughout the newer firm’s catalogue: it is the lesson of practicality and making things happen, onsite, to get the best result possible. Karen describes herself as a “capital A” architect and this ethos is imbued in all members of her team. In our conversation, she says, quite plainly, “We are in it to produce good buildings, good housing.” But in the next breath, she notes that this is a process of “giving and not just taking; we have an obligation to give back.” And give back they do, with professional advocacy and the simple objective of setting a good example of high-quality outcomes in challenging contractual settings and within constrained sites. The Farmer Street development (2018) is a case in point. A mix of nine three-storey townhouses and fifty apartments were knitted together on a highly constrained inner-urban site. The team tackled the challenge with a bespoke solution – something akin to a puzzle box with interlocking pieces. During the project, complexities emerged and many lessons were learnt. Nevertheless, the result is seamlessly woven into its urban setting, taking on the rhythm
Farmer Street Townhouses second floor 1:400
Farmer Street Townhouses first floor 1:400
Farmer Street Townhouses ground floor 1:400
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01 Karen Alcock, director of MA Architects. 02 The Farmer Street Townhouses (2018) are comprised of nine dwellings that are part of a larger development. Photograph: Trevor Mein.
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IN PROFILE
03 The interior finishes of the Farmer Street Townhouses are in keeping with their robust exterior.
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04 The Walsh Street apartments (2014) are designed to have comfortable proportions befitting “houses in the sky.” 05 Apartments at Walsh Street feature liberal use of one of MAA’s preferred materials, raw concrete. Artwork: Sally Ross. 06 Operable shutters on the Walsh Street facade enable residents to control views and privacy.
of the streetscape. “We like our buildings to look like they fit in,”quips Karen, reflecting on MAA’s response to the site. In another category, South Yarra’s Walsh Street dwellings (2014) (see Houses 103) reflect and respond to a different aspect of the market. These are house-sized apartments, which Karen describes as “houses in the sky.” Again, the building’s facade and its relationship to the street were both deemed of great importance, and the design makes liberal use of one of MAA’s favourite materials, raw concrete. The interiors were completed by Carr Design and there is a lovely frisson between the soft, raw touch of MAA and the polished elements characteristic of Carr Design. Once again in South Yarra, the Darling Street development (2012) (see Houses 88) was built around the permit envelope secured by another architect and inherited by MAA. This twin-townhouse construction utilized many of the tropes beloved of MAA (and before it, Neometro) – namely, the use of vivid external blinds on the facade, expressive texture and, again, concrete. Like the Walsh Street development, this was a collaborative effort, completed with Kerry Phelan interiors. In contrast to MAA’s medium-density buildings, Main Ridge Residence (2011) (see Houses 94) is a sole residence. It represents an experience created for a site that is not quite greenfield, but is certainly less constrained, and
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home to an established vineyard. This house is planned in the round, oriented to views and wrapped seamlessly around a central courtyard. The rooms are choreographed as a series of discoveries, from arrival to gradual reorientation, both within each room and in relation to the vineyard landscape. The house begins with a public zone suitable for entertaining and formal dining for up to twenty guests; as one moves around the courtyard, the more private, family zones are revealed. The practicalities of construction and structure are evident throughout all of the MAA work we discuss, even in this single dwelling with its deceptively simple portal frame. Wrapping this frame as the primary expressive device, the ceiling plane folds up and down, encircling the courtyard and enveloping joinery designed as room-defining and room-dividing elements in the plan. Although this single dwelling is a departure for MAA, the language employed in its execution is no less self-assured and, unusually, in keeping with its higher density cousins. This bodes well for future directions and excursions beyond multi-residential; indeed, we briefly discuss an office
Karen wants to continue to cultivate three things: the work, the practice culture, and finally, the team, both as individuals and together.
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07 Karen and her team have developed a confident design language that has become a signature of the practice. 08 The variously textured concrete and vivid sun shading at the Darling Street townhouses (2012) are characteristic of MAA’s aesthetic. 09 The interiors at Darling Street display honestly expressed materials and a limited tonal palette.
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IN PROFILE
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building project currently being completed by the team. Again, the use of concrete and the smart exploitation of practical construction methods is leading to a seamless outcome that sits comfortably within the practice’s catalogue. Mention of this seven-level office project prompts Karen to speak about one of her deeply held tenets: that cities are made or broken in heights of up to seven storeys. She is intrinsically not fond of working beyond this height and restricts MAA’s zone of operation to seven levels and below, believing that this is a humane scale in relation to the pedestrian and the city in general. And how is the city delivered at this scale? The changing nature of construction procurement is never far from this conversation – and this is entirely consistent with MAA’s make-it-happen approach. “If things are going to be done design-and-construct [as compared to traditional architectural contractual methods], which is the way things are going, get good contracts in place and make the best of it,” advises Karen, demonstrating again her inherent practicality. Her experience at MAA, and Neometro before it, have proven to her – and she to the world – that rather than complain about trends in procurement and in the industry in general, it is possible to take the initiative and execute solid contracts that give each project the best possible chance. What of MAA’s future? Karen wants to continue to cultivate three things: the work, the practice culture and, finally, the team, both as individuals and together. This has been working well so far, and I will look on with interest to see where MAA goes now that it is no longer a teenager and is standing on its own two proverbial legs. maarchitects.com.au
10 Planned in the round, Main Ridge Residence (2011) envelopes a central courtyard. Photograph: Shannon McGrath. 11 Main Ridge Residence embodies the same assured execution as MAA’s larger multiplehousing projects.
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Mt Eliza House by Bird de la Coeur Architects FIRST HOUSE
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When a family walked into the office of Bird de la Coeur Architects twenty years ago and asked for a home that three generations could cohabit, directors Vanessa Bird and Neil de la Coeur relished the opportunity to tap into their fond memories of share house living. Words by Vanessa Bird Photography by Shani Hodson
MT ELIZA HOUSE
Neil de la Coeur and I were immediately impressed by the group of four people who walked into our office in 2000. You know straight away when the fit is right and they quickly became our clients. June, her two daughters and her son-in-law had pooled their money to commission a house. Their quiet resolve to live as three generations together under one roof never wavered, and despite our inexperience, neither did their confidence in us. While the idea of housing an extended family isn’t new, the vast majority of Australian housing isn’t built for this purpose, so they quickly realized they needed an architect. We were as interested then as we are now in shared space and how people might live comfortably together. Neil and I are part of the generation who went to university before gentrification made the shared, inner-city, four-tofive-bedroom student house for $150 per week a thing of the past. We knew well the joys and chaos of shared living. At Mt Eliza House, it was our job to design out the bad bits. We quickly found solutions for the points of frustration, like having only one light-filled and spacious main bedroom alongside a series of smaller rooms, and having to queue for the single shower. Not only were our clients somewhat extraordinary, but so too was their clifftop site. It comprised half an acre of north-facing garden, carved off from a neighbouring estate, above Daveys Bay on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, with views back towards Melbourne. We couldn’t believe our luck. After listening carefully to our clients, and thoroughly analyzing the site conditions, we arrived at a courtyard plan. The main wing cranks to face due north while the pool makes up the fourth side of the quadrangle. The wings are almost like neighbouring buildings set around a protected central garden, leaving the bedrooms separate from one another. Each person also has their own specialinterest room (a library, a darkroom, a studio) within their wing. At the time, Neil and I were living in an inner-city worker’s cottage and calculated that Emma and Patrick’s bedroom was as far away from June’s as we were from a house nine doors away. While the design of Mt Eliza House is very much about shared living, with the best location on the site given to the large living, dining and kitchen area, it is also very much about privacy. Throughout, the house shifts from
01 Located on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, Mt Eliza House is arranged in a courtyard plan, with the main shared living wing cranked to face due north.
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public to private spaces are indicated by a turned corner, a change in material or a compressed entry and hierarchy is suggested not only by proportion but also by subtle changes in level. We formed a great working relationship with the builder, Paul Zwagerman of Landmark Builders, who watched me become increasingly pregnant as the weekly site visits progressed. He had a very calm manner and, rather than presenting problems to be solved, he offered multiple solutions to issues that arose. We invited landscape architect Catherine Rush from Rush Wright Associates onto the team. Cath and I had studied at RMIT at the same time. She did a beautiful job. Our clients were keen gardeners and enjoyed Cath’s thoughtful expertise. It’s so rewarding to see the garden and its relationship to the house today. The house led directly to other projects, like McBride House in nearby Mount Eliza and Capris House in Mount Martha. Seven years later, we got a call from a client who wanted to commission a shared house for retired couples. You never know when connections will surface. Before long, we had designed Wedmore House. Ideas and questions raised by Mt Eliza House, like “How will we live together?” and “Will your house outlive you?” permeate all our residential work. Mt Eliza House reassured us that design can solve problems. As part of a generation who loved share houses, I hope that ageing Australia is willing to try something new. The economic, social and environmental benefits of welldesigned cluster housing can be clearly seen.
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02 Designed to provide privacy for a family’s three generations, the home’s wings are almost like neighbouring buildings set around a protected garden. 03 The architects collaborated with landscape architect Catherine Rush, of Rush Wright Associates, to cultivate a strong relationship between the home, its garden and its natural clifftop setting.
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Architect Bird de la Coeur Architects +61 3 9682 4566 mail@bdlc.com.au birddelacoeur.com.au
FIRST HOUSE
Project team Vanessa Bird, Neil de la Coeur, Vukan Misic, James Parker Builder Landmark Builders Engineer John Gardner and Associates Landscape architect Rush Wright Associates
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Mr Fräg FURNITURE DESIGNER
An eclectic collection of chairs, rugs, sofas and side tables designed by Frag Woodall, of Mr Fräg, is characterized by natural materials, expert craftsmanship and an aesthetic of essentialism. Words by Leanne Amodeo
Ask Frag Woodall where his inspiration comes from and he’ll say through simply observing the world around him. “But then you have to take those observations and translate them into a legible outcome easily understood and enjoyed by as many people as possible,” says the Brisbane-born furniture designer, who established Mr Fräg in 2010 and, after living in Sydney, has recently relocated to Launceston. This self-confessed bowerbird plucks different ideas from anywhere and everywhere, throws in plenty of feeling and then weaves it all together for a cohesive, carefully considered result. The fact that Frag’s portfolio is so broadly appealing attests to his ability to create designs that resonate not only for their functionality but also for their overwhelming good looks. Each piece is exactly what it needs to be – nothing more, nothing less – and defined by a simplicity in both palette and form that echoes the elegance of Scandinavian minimalism. Having spent a lot of time in Sweden and Denmark working with collaborators, Frag shares their appreciation for natural materials, craftsmanship and essentialism, and seeks to imbue his work with that particular Scandinavian quietness and calm. A lot of the product development takes place in Frag’s head and so, by the time he puts pencil to paper, the concept has already achieved a high level of resolve. “In this respect, my process isn’t particularly experimental, but it’s very thought-driven,” he explains. “The experimenting comes afterwards, with the sketching and model-making, and that’s when I play with colour, scale and material.”
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Certainly, his aesthetic is informed by a love of tactility and meticulously handcrafted detailing, which evokes a strong sensory connection with the end user. This is especially evident in the Dowel stool, with its subtly curved, sensuous brass seat, and in the Cloud side table series, where marble tops are treated in an unexpectedly delicate way against American white oak legs. Even Bondi chair, for all its elementary expression, makes you want to run your hand along its precise, crisp form. Frag’s most recent collections are no less compelling. Bayou, a modular seating system comprising sofas, coffee tables and partition screens, is voluptuous in form, whimsical in concept. It would be a thoroughly modern addition to any workplace setting, just as the Gnomon shelf would be to any home. “This piece is about everything but the actual product itself – the way objects are placed on it, the way they cast shadows on the wall,” says Frag. “So it’s a very simple, fine form that essentially came out of a non-form, to play a secondary role to all that’s around it.” But perhaps Frag’s most stylish collection to date is the Kaufmann lounge chair and Wright side table, whose angles and planes reflect Frank Lloyd Wright’s residential masterpiece Fallingwater. Here, Frag pays homage to the great designers who have gone before. Well aware of his own place in design history, he is looking forward to working in Tasmania, with its rich traditions of manufacture and design. This next chapter for Mr Fräg promises to be a very exciting one. mrfrag.com
STUDIO
01 Frag Woodall, of Mr Fräg, translates his day-to-day observations into inspired design ideas. 02 The material and form of the Bondi chair imbues it with a tactile quality that evokesa sensory response. 03 Echoing the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, the Wright side table is a composition of elemental planes.
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COOKS RIVER HOUSE BY STUDIO PLUS THREE
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Immersed in a tumbling hillside garden, this reworking of a Federation-era bungalow in Sydney’s Inner West eschews suburban tropes in favour of spaces that foster connection with the landscape.
Words by Rebecca Gross Photography by Tom Ferguson
Sydney’s Inner West has pockets of strong suburban character, with Federation and Californian bungalows lining the streets. But step through the front gate at Cooks River House and suburbia is left behind. A landscape of rocky outcrops and native plants terraces down the hill, seeming to flow right through the house to the Cooks River Foreshore. The property’s owners, Bob and Emily, have a fondness for the Blue Mountains, and wanted the architecture and landscaping to evoke the wild, natural feeling of a national park. Designed by Studio Plus Three, Cooks River House is an alteration and addition to a Federation bungalow. The front of the house faced south to the river, and a previous northern addition didn’t let in much light, so with small rooms and limited windows, the interior was cold and dark. It also lacked connection with the landscape. Nevertheless, surrounded by sandstone and trees, the house and its overgrown garden felt like a mountain home to Bob and Emily, who saw it as an adventure-filled environment in which to raise their three children. “It was challenging working with such a difficult landscape and a house that was so awkward on the site. We worked to marry them together so that every room has a connection to the landscape,” says Joseph Byrne, co-director of Studio Plus Three. As the surroundings formed an integral part of the
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concept, Studio Plus Three worked with landscape designer Christopher Owen, director of Fieldwork Associates, from the beginning of the project. Using the existing footprint and the original bungalow structure, Studio Plus Three designed a two-storey house, keeping the additions natural and minimal in response to the setting. The lower volume has an open interior and sliding glass doors, minimizing the form to create a continuous sense of landscape. The timber-clad upper volume has a contemporary profile that extends beyond the glass walls and grey steelwork of the ground floor, yet maintains the massing and gabled roof of the bungalow as well as the neighbouring houses. From the top of the site, the upper volume of the house appears to float over the lower volume. As you walk down through the landscape – past native plantings, a sandstone cliff face and flat spaces for the children to play – the view through the house continues to open up, with a large south-facing opening framing the lower-garden tree canopy. A minimal steel and precast-concrete staircase perched atop the cliff face provides a more direct route from the garage to the house, where existing concrete slabs and new concrete pavers surround the addition. The front door is at the junction of old and new and its deep-purple colour, inspired by the
COOKS RIVER HOUSE
01 Cooks River House complements the character of suburban Sydney yet feels like a mountain escape.
Cooks River House is built on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation
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Australian bush, is the first indication of Emily’s love of colour. The kitchen and dining area are part of the new addition and face north to the uphill landscape. Glass doors can be opened on all three sides, creating a pavilion-like feel, and the deep overhang of the upper volume serves as an eave to obstruct the summer sun. To merge the architecture and the landscape, Studio Plus Three used similar materials inside and out. The concrete flooring mimics the external slab and pavers; spotted gum is used for joinery throughout; and green linoleum in the kitchen works tonally with the garden. A large door slides out of the wall to section off the kitchen and dining area from the living room for heating, privacy and acoustics. The living room’s timber flooring flows out to a south-facing timber deck that cantilevers over the lower garden. Here, where the brick front of the Federation bungalow is visible, the sandstone rock footings have been exposed to reveal the original construction and to marry the house with the landscape. The corner bedroom has been retained, with a larger window inserted for light, and a second bedroom has been divided into a bathroom and a laundry. Spotted gum joinery is paired with blue linoleum in the bathrooms, and bright-yellow drawer and cupboard linings are a colourful surprise. There are three bedrooms, a study and a family bathroom upstairs. Despite being one floor up, the spaces remain connected to the landscape, with every room offering a different aspect. Two children’s bedrooms have north-facing glass walls with external blinds and side windows for cross ventilation. A “bridge” to Bob and Emily’s bedroom creates a sense of transition as it passes into the pod-like form that sits atop and within the Federation roof. South-facing windows frame the tree canopy, and the gabled roof minimizes the visual impact of the house from the foreshore. With landscape views from every room, and a rugged site to explore at the doorstep, Cooks River House complements the character of inner-suburban Sydney yet feels like it’s in the mountains. According to Julin Ang, co-director of Studio Plus Three, “It’s a humble, peaceful and serene refuge from suburbia, yet still a suburban house.”
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Products Roofing: Lysaght Custom Orb in Colorbond ‘Wallaby’; Fletcher Insulation Permastop insulation External walls: Mafi Kebony scots pine cladding Internal walls: CSR Gyprock plasterboard in Dulux ‘Lexicon Half’; custom spotted gum joinery wall panels in clear matt sealer Windows: Alspec aluminiumframed doors and windows in Dulux Duralloy ‘Woodland Grey Matt’ powdercoat; Viridian Comfortplus Clear glazing; Shade Factor external venetian blinds; Ozshade external roller blinds Doors: Alspec Proglide Ultraflat sliding doors in Dulux Duralloy ‘Woodland Grey Matt’ powdercoat; Brio 612 Retractable Pleated Insect Screen and Zero Clearance 100 sliding door tracks; door hardware by Designer Doorware, Lockwood, Pittella and Halliday and Baillie Flooring: Spotted gum floorboards in Bona Traffic coating; polished concrete with exposed aggregate and matt finish; Godfrey Hirst Carramar wool carpet Lighting: Toss B Disc Pendant from Hub; Inlite Tuba II wall-mounted light; Dux Lighting strip lighting; Unios Onyx external spotlights Kitchen: Barazza cooktop; Siemens pyrolytic oven; Franke stainless steel sink and mixer tap; Smeg rangehood; Miele integrated
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dishwasher; Artedomus porcelain splashback in ‘Urban Ivory’; custom solid spotted gum benchtop; Forbo Furniture Linoleum in ‘Olive’; custom spotted gum window seat and joinery Bathroom: Custom timber joinery with spotted gum veneer in clear matt sealer; Astra Walker Icon tapware and towel rails in ‘Brushed Platinum’; TECE flush plate and concealed cistern; Studio Bagno wall-hung toilet; Corian Custom Basin in ‘Glacier White’; Forbo Furniture Linoleum in ‘Smokey Blue’; subway tiles in ‘Satin White’ from Beaumont Tiles; Southern Cross Ceramics Artisan floor tiles in ‘French Blue’ and ‘Navy’ Heating and cooling: Ducted air-conditioning; Shade Factor retractable cassette awning; Amuheat electric in-slab underfloor heating External elements: Mafi Kebony scots pine decking; pre-cast concrete pavers and steel stair treads; custom steel stairs and balustrade in Dulux Micaceous Iron Oxide coating Other: Röthlisberger Torsio dining chairs and Classicon Sedan Lounge Chair from Anibou; Hay Hee bar stool and Palissade outdoor lounge chair and side table from Cult; Project 82 Sia coffee table and Luella floor lamp
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02 Open living spaces allow unobstructed visual connection to the dense tree canopy of the lower garden. 03 Rocky outcrops and native plants terrace down the site, seeming to flow into the interior spaces. 04 Spotted gum timber, concrete flooring and green linoleum in the kitchen reflect the colours and textures of the landscape.
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There are three bedrooms, a study and a family bathroom upstairs. Every room offers a different aspect of the landscape.
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05 Bright-yellow interiors are a colourful surprise hidden inside the bathroom joinery. 06 Light and views to foliage are drawn into the upstairs bedrooms. 07 The home’s gabled roof-line responds to the scale and form of the existing bungalow and its neighbours.
Architect Studio Plus Three +61 2 8283 2730 info@studioplusthree.com studioplusthree.com
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Project team Joseph Byrne, Julin Ang, Simon Rochowski, Sreeja Basak, Klaus Carson Builder SFD Construction Engineer Cantilever Consulting Engineers Landscape designer Fieldwork Associates Landscaping Rhystyled Gardens Planning consultant PCN Urban Geotechnical engineer JK Geotechnics Hydraulic engineer ITM Design Quantity surveyor Donald Bayley
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MERRI CREEK HOUSE BY WOWOWA A RC H I TECTU R E
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With drums and curves that allude to the brick water towers that dot rural Australia, this playful home flouts convention, delivering an abundance of “good vibes” in the process.
Words by Marcus Baumgart Photography by Shannon McGrath
This is the story of a house that is not rectangular. Considered against the host of minimalist and reductive – and resolutely rectilinear – approaches to contemporary residential architecture favoured by many practices and their clients, Merri Creek House stands out by virtue of its bold geometry and inventive formal assemblage. There are drums and curves aplenty in this house, and even the odd paddle-pop detail (more on that later). By resorting to these gestures and devices, the designers have instigated the emergence of an architecture that plays positively with its Fitzroy North context. In fact, they have taken the contextual referents found in the inner-city Melbourne neighbourhood to a new extreme – one that never quite borders on caricature, although perhaps it comes close. Wowowa Architecture likes old things found in country towns and cites the ubiquitous water tower seen in many rural settlements as one of its major cues for the forms and shapes in Merri Creek House. These structures, usually finished in brick and steel, have often been lovingly fabricated, and include myriad small details and flourishes. For reasons that may remain shrouded in mystery, Wowowa has taken
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this reference and incarnated its iconic shape in three brick drums that anchor the form of the house. Curves in brick are also evident in other houses in the surrounding streetscape, giving further contextual grounding to the gesture. The plan weaves between three circles: one at the front, one in the middle and one only partially manifested at the rear. The front circle resolves into a double-level drum containing a sitting room on the lower level and a study on the upper level. One arrives at the dwelling just past this initial brick tower, to slip into the plan partway down the block; to the immediate left of the entry is the second drum, which is a dramatic double-height volume containing the house’s single curving stair. The balustrade is playfully finished as a series of palings with friendly-looking “paddle-pop” tops, introducing more curves into the visual mix. From the entry, the visitor is given a vista right through the plan, which meanders between the three anchoring circles. The rear wall of glass facing the backyard is partially visible from the point of entry, but the plan’s abundance of curves and corners means that a journey from entry to rear is one of
NEW HOUSE
01 Silver wattle and pink marble kitchen finishes complement the home’s exposed brickwork. Artwork: Yilpi Marks. 02 The iconic shape of the rural water tower is incarnated in brick drums that anchor the form of the house. 03 Interior details, such as those in the custom kitchen island, repeat a curved motif. 04 Merri Creek House “likes to be shared,” according to its owners – the journey through it is one of discovery.
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Merri Creek House is built on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation
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Products Roofing: Lysaght and Stratco flashings, cappings and gutters in Colorbond ‘Cottage Green’ External walls: Daniel Robertson Traditional bricks in ‘Buff’; Austral Bricks Allure bricks in ‘Ariana’; Nailstrip Interlocking cladding system in Colorbond Metallic Steel ‘Aries’; Cedar Sales Aerofin blades Internal walls: Plaster Windows: Saxon Windows and Joinery timber window frames Flooring: Supertuft Escape Velour carpets in ‘Lotti’ and ‘Chase’; polished concrete structural slab Lighting: Rakumba Rosella pendants by Wowowa Architecture; Ross Gardam Flare wall light; Brightgreen D900 downlights; Flos Glo-ball wall light Kitchen: Briggs Veneers silver wattle (crown-cut) veneer; Attila Natural Stone marble in ‘Hazar Pink’; Polytec Valchromat panels in ‘Blue’ Bathroom: Tiento Finger tiles, Mapei Grout Ultracolor Plus in ‘Space Blue’ Heating and cooling: Helioscreen awning; Big Ass Fans ceiling fan Other: Grazia and Co Harvey sofa, Harvey swivel armchair and Dita stools; Halcyon Lake rug
discovery and gradual revelation. Hidden surprises are revealed, as one discovers the different public and private spaces of the house. At the very rear of the dwelling is the final drum – this one is only partially resolved or, in the words of my guide, Scott Woodward of Wowowa Architecture, “deconstructed.” One assumes that “deconstructed” refers to the drum’s slightly unfinished, or even romantically faux-ruinous, state – perhaps it could be the remnant of something that was in fact never built in the first place. More of a half-drum, this form is open on the northern side, and a high, curving window in its flank frames a view of a delightful flowering tree in a neighbour’s yard, unashamedly borrowing scenery to make a pleasant internal vista. Upstairs (via the circular stair), the plan is divided in two. One side, facing the street, contains the study and the “garage-top” drinks terrace, a nod to a delightful suburban institution seen elsewhere along the street. The rear half of the plan is devoted to colourful and modestly sized bedrooms and bathing spaces; this is not a house of excessive, or excess, space. In fact, the formal heroics of the architecture pair quite well with a modest overall scale, in a time-honoured fashion. After all, how often do we visit architectural icons and find them to be smaller than we had imagined? Merri Creek House sits in good company in this regard. As the largest commission that Wowowa Architecture had undertaken at the time of its inception, this house has the character of a formal experiment, albeit one executed with the enthusiastic participation of a willing client family. The result is something humane, not too serious, and possessing an abundance of “good vibes.” As I left the house, I thanked one of the owners for their generosity in sharing their house with me. “My pleasure,” she said. “It’s a house that likes to be shared.”
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06 “Romantically faux-ruinous,� the third circle is partially complete, etching an arc into the upstairs bathroom.
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07 07 07 The “garage-top” drinks terrace is a nod to a delightful suburban institution seen elsewhere along the tree-lined street. 08 A “paddle-pop stick” balustrade lines the curve of the stairs, which lead to three modestly sized bedrooms. 09 The home’s bold and inventive geometry sits playfully in its Fitzroy North context.
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Architect Wowowa Architecture +61 3 9078 2787 hello@wowowa.com.au wowowa.com.au
HOUSES 132
Project team Monique Woodward, Scott Woodward, Issy Jooste, Jean-Marie Spencer Builder Atma Builders Engineer Form Engineers Landscaping Sam Cox Landscape Lighting James Senior
NEW HOUSE
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GLEBE STUDIO BY P ROE P P E R ARC H I TE CTS WITH ANGELA RHEINLAENDER
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Cleverly navigating the constraints of a tightly hemmed Sydney site, this flexible laneway studio demonstrates the versatility and appeal of small-scale living.
Words by Rebecca Gross Photography by Katherine Lu
As the design and build of this secondary dwelling in Sydney’s inner-western suburb of Glebe progressed, the intended occupants changed. The initial brief asked for a separate self-contained home for the client’s grandmother that was flexible enough to be used as rental accommodation. However, the clients’ needs changed as the project developed, and they now plan to move in when their teenage children leave home. Being adaptable for different occupants is part of the versatility and appeal of secondary dwellings and small-scale living, as inner-suburban homeowners increasingly transform underutilized spaces at the rear of their properties. “The house has potential for many lives, which is the challenge and opportunity of the design,” says Monika Proepper, director of Proepper Architects. The building is located on the sixty-square-metre footprint of the existing carport and has an independent entrance from the rear laneway. It sits within a local government heritage conservation area and there are diverse architectural styles in close proximity, including heritage-listed buildings from the 1800s and early 1900s, as well as 1960s apartment blocks and more recent townhouses. The form of the dwelling was designed to respect and fit this diverse context. The asymmetric gable mimics the pitch and ridgeline of a former stable building (now residential) two doors down, and the 2.5-storey height mediates the stable and single-storey garage to the west and the four-storey apartment block to the east. The footprint also aligns with the stable building and, built to the boundaries, the studio bookends the corner of the laneway. The clients wanted a robust and secure building to minimize maintenance and mollify concerns about safety at night. Clad in prefinished panels, it presents a strong and resilient facade. At night, the entrance door is softly lit and the house glows from within, illuminating the end of the lane. A staircase leads up to the dwelling, where the double-height volume maximizes the use and feeling of space. Living space on the first floor is designed to be
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GLEBE STUDIO
01 A double-height volume over the living area at Glebe Studio expands the sense of space. Artwork: Patricia Kamara.
Glebe Studio is built on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation
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Couple
adaptable and multifunctional, and a mezzanine level beneath the gable keeps the interior as open as possible. A laundry is concealed behind cupboard doors at the top of the stairs. The kitchen and bathroom are tucked beneath the mezzanine and a covered balcony occupies the south-east corner. As the building is built boundary to boundary, the side walls needed to be fire-rated and without windows. And because the clients’ house is behind, the rear facade needed to offer privacy. The challenge, therefore, was how to bring in natural light and ventilation. Steel-framed, perforated bi-fold shutters allow light inside while screening the interior from the laneway, translucent polycarbonate on the north-facing wall diffuses light (and provides privacy from and for the client), and four skylights above the mezzanine bring in light throughout the day. Louvre windows on each side of the polycarbonate wall can be opened in the laundry, bathroom and mezzanine for natural cross-ventilation, and the bathroom mirror is cleverly angled to allow a view of the bamboo planted outside while maintaining privacy. Operable skylights flush out hot air, and a mesh-wire balustrade around the mezzanine and a slide-down window above the balcony retain airiness and openness. Monika designed the living area with foldable, movable furniture that can be adapted for purpose and occasion. The mezzanine is accessed via a stair that retracts sideways and can be pressed against the wall to increase living space. Storage is integrated into plywood joinery that also serves as the balustrades. Stage-two joinery will be built before the clients move in, including additional storage as well as folding panels that will function as a stand-up desk along one wall. Internal materials are durable, low-maintenance, economical and light. The concrete-look prefinished panels continue around the corners of the balcony, creating a sense of being outdoors; the grey tiles in the bathroom, with their similar colour and texture, also evoke this feeling. The plywood joinery in the bathroom provides warmth and colour, and integrates storage without imposing on the space. A rainwater tank is connected to the laundry and additional solar panels on the main house power the secondary dwelling. While the form of Glebe Studio is contained and enclosed for privacy, safety and size, it feels open, spacious and airy. The interior is bathed in light as the sun moves throughout the day and the exterior helps enliven and illuminate the laneway. With a view of the sky, the neighbouring trees and bamboo shadows outside the polycarbonate wall, the dwelling feels like a treehouse. It transforms underutilized space into an adaptable and desirable home for a variety of occupants and is an example of the versatility and appeal of small-scale living.
HOUSES 132
STUDIO
342 m² 53 m²
Design 3 y Build 1 y 1 m
Products Roofing: Lysaght roofing in Colorbond ‘Wallaby’; CSR Bradford insulation External walls: Cemintel Barestone External prefinished panels; Danpal Danpalon Multicell polycarbonate; perforated Barestone panels by Keystone Windows: Wideline anodized aluminium windows; Brio folding door hardware Doors: Brio sliding door track; B and D Madrid garage door in Colorbond ‘Wallaby’; Cavity Slider sliding doors in Dulux ‘White on White’ Flooring: Blackbutt timber flooring in Synteko Classic floor finish Lighting: Tec LED linear pendant light and Winged Micro light Kitchen: Custom birch plywood joinery and benchtop from DMK Forest Products by All Things Cupboard; Mirastar splashback; Posh Solus mixer from Reece; Esatto bar fridge; Artusi cooktop and oven; Abey sink Bathroom: Caroma Liano wall basin; Mizu Drift tapware from Reece; Caroma Urbane Compact Invisi Series toilet; Colortile tiles in ‘Uptown Silver’; custom birch plywood joinery from DMK Forest Products in Osmo Polyx-Oil ‘SatinMatt’ finish by All Things Cupboard External elements: Planter by 2257 Horticultural Services Other: Bcompact folding stairs; steel balustrade and framing by Artisan Steelworks; Boconcept armchair, dining chairs, table and floor lamp; Tait Volley Rocker
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02 Perforated shutters allow access to light while screening the interior from the laneway. 03 Tucked beneath the gable roofline, the mezzanine level is accessed via a collapsible stair.
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GLEBE STUDIO
04 Uniformly clad in prefinished panels, the small building has a robust and resilient street presence.
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Ground floor 1:250
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1 Entry 2 Bin store 3 Rain water tank 4 Carport 5 Garden 6 Laundry
7 Kitchen 8 Balcony 9 Living/ dining 10 Planter 11 Mezzanine 12 Void
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Architect Proepper Architects +61 407 014 031 monika@proepper.com.au proepper.com.au
HOUSES 132
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Project team Monika Proepper Co-designer Angela Rheinlaender Builder Green Envy Landscape and Garden Services Engineer Cantilever Consulting Engineers Steel Fabricator Artisan Steelworks Lighting Architectural Lighting Design Heritage consultant Julie Mackenzie ESD Integreco Consulting Certifier East Coast Certification
STUDIO
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Paddington House by Ken Woolley
Designed for a steeply sloping site in an inner Sydney suburb, Ken Woolley’s Paddington House, completed in 1980, is a love letter to the modernist architect’s wife, Virginia Braden Woolley.
REVISITED
Words by Peter Salhani Photography by Michael Nicholson
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01 The barrelvaulted ceiling and porthole apertures at Paddington House are inspired by the work of the iconic Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.
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PADDINGTON HOUSE
02 Set across three compact levels, the home is described by Ken’s wife Virginia as “light, bright” and “beautiful to live in.”
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REVISITED
Ken Woolley’s Paddington House, completed in 1980, is the smallest of the architect’s three Sydney homes, and arguably his most romantic. It is a love letter to his second wife, Virginia Braden Woolley. Perched on a ridge in Sydney’s Paddington, looking north towards the harbour, the house marked a new beginning for Woolley, and for the inner-eastern suburb of Paddington, then enjoying a wave of gentrification as artists and other architects of note moved in from the outer garden suburbs. Virginia had found the precipitous site on a service lane, excised from a larger estate. It was Ken’s chance to test new ideas for urban living, with a small house on a steep incline. It bears no resemblance to the Victorian terraces around it. That is just part of its charm. Instead of the polite Paddington facade, the front of the house presents as a walled compound, like the small workshops dotted through the suburb. A garage door, red steel lattice gate into the portico, and porthole sliced through the white-painted brickwork above, offer glimpses into and out of the top level. This circular motif is used throughout – in the skylight above the internal stairs, the barrel-vaulted ceiling, the curved brick walls and the fireplace, which are all inspired by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Even the original door and cupboard handles (now gone) were discs. Paddington House is set over three compact levels, with the living room on the top, a main bedroom and ensuite on level two and, on level three, a bathroom, a laundry and a pair of single bedrooms (joined by sliding doors) that Ken sometimes used as a study. The most striking architectural feature of the house can only be seen from the rear garden, well below street level. A round tower rises for three levels, appearing to anchor the building to its base. Critics have speculated on the tower since the house won the Wilkinson Award for Residential Architecture in 1983. To some, the tower references the hillside fortress towns of San Gimignano, which Woolley so fondly sketched en route through Italy. Others suggest that this and the circular motif were a mere postmodern folly. But Virginia tells a more enchanting tale. “Ken said the house was shaped like a grand piano for me, because of my music connections, and an ambition I once held to be a concert pianist,” says Virginia, now chair of the Sydney International Piano Competition. So, the tower represents the circular heel of a grand piano, where the soundbox would reside. In Paddington House, it exquisitely rounds off the main bedroom and second bedroom below with an intimate minor space, ideal for an armchair. On the top level, it forms the outdoor terrace, with a fine steel railing that outlines its curved brick parapet. After only seven years, the Woolleys sold Paddington House, when the sudden death of Ken’s first wife brought their young children back to live with him. His oldest daughter, Anna Woolley, has fond memories of the home. “The bedrooms had a cosy cubby-
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house feel to them. They weren’t big, but you felt incredibly safe. There was nothing at all showy about the house but it was very interesting. That’s a reflection of Dad’s quiet nature and his brilliant attention to detail.” The Woolleys sold to Jenny and John Melhuish, who, over thirty-two years, made only a minor change to the house, which is now heritage listed. Steel balustrades were added to the internal staircase, to Ken’s design, and the exterior was repainted: the same white cement-based paint for the brickwork, the same British green and rust red for the garage door. “It was very hard to let go of the house,” recalls Virginia. “We both loved it very much. It was beautiful to live in, incredibly light and bright. That was my first experience of living in a house designed with just the two of us in mind and it really opened my eyes to Ken’s work and what kind of mind he had. For years after we moved, Ken always said if it ever came on the market again, he’d buy it back.” In mid-2019, the house again changed hands, following the death of Jenny Melhuish. Essential refurbishments were undertaken to prepare the house for sale: bathrooms renewed, the interior repainted, the vaulted timber ceiling re-limed and the kitchen joinery replaced to the original footprint. This work was designed and overseen by Milenko Mijuskovic of Redux Studio, son-in-law of the late Jenny Melhuish. He’s been a custodian of the house and its legacy
03 The three-storey tower, visible from the rear garden, is shaped like the heel of a grand piano – an homage to Virginia’s love of music. 04 The living area on the top floor opens to a rounded terrace that captures grand harbour views.
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Axonometric
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PADDINGTON HOUSE
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for many years, particularly in this critical changeover period. In the refurbishment, he has followed Ken’s design and material logic as faithfully as possible, and gone a step further. Anticipating the potential needs of its new owner purchasing a small house on a large lot, Milenko prepared (and had approved) plans for a garden-level guest suite addition, to be carved into the sandstone bedrock. He also took the unusual step of commissioning photographer Michael Nicholson (whose images accompany this article) to freshly document the house on its own dedicated website. “Ken had written somewhere that, having spent a lifetime doing the Pettit and Sevitt houses, he felt the obligation to make this a small home, but make it really efficient and work well. But it’s so much more than that. It’s not architecture as commodity. It embodies a principle of ‘how much do we really need to live well?’” Ken Woolley was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1988, for his contribution as one of Australia’s most prolific and profoundly original architects. In over fifty years, he produced more than 6,000 houses (including the first Pettit and Sevitt designs) and dozens of public, educational, sports and spiritual buildings, including the University of Sydney’s beloved Fisher Library and St Margaret’s Chapel in Sydney’s Surry Hills, which he designed at the age of twenty-two. While he avoided a singular style, there is a deeply humanistic vein through all of Ken’s work. Every project grounds itself in the context of place and the contest of ideas, with a fearless commitment to craftsmanship. It’s a very particular mind that can balance contradictions so gracefully, and in Paddington House, architecture’s key tenets of “prospect and privacy” are in perfect equilibrium – from the sun-drenched living level, whose hero is the rounded terrace and big harbour view, to the quiet, cosseting bedrooms below. In the end, the house is a collection of beautiful moments and details done incredibly well, revealing themselves in layers.
05 The design of Paddington House tests new ideas for urban living by creating highly efficient spaces.
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PADDINGTON HOUSE
Section not to scale
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“ It’s not architecture as commodity. It embodies a principle of ‘how much do we really need to live well?’”
06 The home’s compound-like facade is a departure from the polite terraces typical to the suburb.
HOUSES 132
Architect Ken Woolley
REVISITED
Project team: Ken Woolley Engineer: Arup
Architectural drawings courtesy The Images Publishing Group
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Open Door EXHIBITION
Bringing together a diverse group of creatives, Open Door: Contemporary Makers and Designers, explores the symbolism of domestic entryways and doors. Words by Patrick Hunn
As the wheel of good taste turns, various elements of the home are dragged into the spotlight. Kitchens, bathrooms, fireplaces, columns, windows, curtains, tiles, rugs, lamps, roofs and stools have all been seized by designers and reworked and redeveloped and iterated and innovated and fetishized until it becomes a little bit tiring and the next big thing minces over the horizon. One part of the home that has seemingly evaded this breathless cycle so far is the door, which is curious, given its pivotal role in defining the home as a private space. Open Door: Contemporary Makers and Designers, an exhibition at Craft Victoria curated by Julie Ewington, serves as a criticism of this bit of cultural absentmindedness. Because, after all, the door or entrance has, at various times and in various parts of the world, commanded its share of attention – from the recessed Japanese genkan to the cluster of Ancient Roman deities responsible for the door’s various constituent real and metaphorical parts, including Cardea, the goddess of hinges and handles; Terminus, the god of boundaries; Portunus, the god of keys, and so on. The exhibition brought together a group of seven designers and artists to consider the door, with a loose brief and a wide range of cultural perspectives producing markedly different results.
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Among the objects on show was Melbournebased Thai ceramicist Vipoo Srivilasa’s rendition of a pair of Dvarapala – traditional door guardians found across South-East Asia. Traditionally a pair of bold statues guarding Buddhist, Hindu or Jain temples of royal palaces, Srivilasa’s cuddlier versions immediately communicate the idea of the home, and cause one to stop and consider the almost sacred properties of the domestic space. Other designers and makers, meanwhile, challenged the demarcation of the private home. Mark Edgoose’s 2015 work Domestic Rail is a somewhat sinister Rube Goldberg machine that unfolds in bolts of titanium and steel across the gallery wall, suggesting function while possessing none. Lionel Bawden’s coir fibre doormat, titled Groundwork, (and cheerily printed with the phrase "conceptual entry point") makes a statement about the home being a bit of psychic trickery rather than a natural fact. The works comprising Open Door neatly make the point that a more beautiful object can be produced by first meditating on its use. The exhibition offered an entree to a new world of design, and also to a number of rather nice door handles. Open Door: Contemporary Makers and Designers was held 24 August – 5 October 2019 at Craft Victoria. craft.org.au
POSTSCRIPT
01 Groundwork by Lionel Bawden appropriates the doormat to make a pointed statement about the home. Photograph: Ian Hobbs. 02 Domestic Rail by Mark Edgoose unfolds in bolts of titanium and steel across the gallery wall. Photograph: Courtesy the artist.
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