Residential
Vaucluse House
The Vaucluse House 1 was designed for a family of four on a spectacular site on the cliffs above the Gap in Vaucluse. The house has a very protected, defensive concrete bedroom level and a very open living area to take advantage of the 300° views from the city out to the ocean.
Maroubra House
The driver for this project was the young owners requirements for a house designed for entertaining. The main living level spans from a floating deck overlooking the beach and bay, through the open plan living room, kitchen and dining area outside to the swimming pool and ends with a pool house. This area was conceived as one huge living space, 49m long and 9m wide. Enough space to throw a party for a few hundred close friends.
The original house faced south towards the views and our proposal was to create a northern courtyard to capture the sun and to avoid the southerly winds. The pool house and the main living spaces open up completely with bi-fold doors to connect the sheltered courtyard and pool to the views.
A very simple palette of materials was used for the project with Japan Black timber floors throughout the living areas and white joinery to retain the focus on the ocean views.
Clovelly House
The brief for the Clovelly House was to renovate and add a level to the existing two-storey building to make best use of the views of Gordons Bay and the headlands to the south. To connect the three levels and allow for natural light and sun the house was designed with a large void allowing light to penetrate into all spaces within the home. This three level void allows for a generous and light filled double height entry with vertical connection between all living spaces. The building form consists of two ‘cubes’ with a connecting curved roof. The structural members of this roof extend over the entry and terrace areas to form privacy and sun screening. The northern cube is slightly taller to allow sufficient soil depth for roof planting.
Burley Griffin House
This house in Castlecrag was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and his wife, Marion Mahony Griffin. The original building reflected the Griffins’ principles of subordinating houses to the landscape, preserving access to and views to native bushland and being sensitive to natural features. The home was substantially altered in the 70’s with the addition of aluminium windows, plasterboard ceilings and other features fashionable at the time. At the request of our clients we restored the original features and added an updated kitchen, bathroom and service areas. The additions are streamlined and integrate in the building’s interior without causing distraction from the integrity of the original home.
Currarong Holiday House
The design of a holiday house often reflects the owners’ life style and aspirations more closely than a permanent home. This South Coast house is simple and robust. The main volume is a bam like extruded gable frame which contains a double volume living space, spacious fully equipped kitchen, a bathroom and upper level bedroom.
The glazing in the house is deliberately oriented to take advantage of the views of the bush to the rear and away from the immediate neighbors. The design creates a sense of privacy and tranquility. The rear garden is converted into a private organic garden which provides fresh produce throughout the year.
Manly House
As with many of our projects the changes to this Manly semi are almost invisible from the outside. Internally this residence has undergone significant transformation. The main intent of this project was to open up and extend the existing floor plan in order to allow a better indoor outdoor connection, provide natural light and ventilation and maximise the use of existing space. Our design focused on these requirements while carefully negotiating strict heritage conditions enforced on the site.
Newtown Warehouse
This project was for the refurbishment of a converted warehouse to increase the amount of light through the building and to upgrade the kitchen, courtyard and office areas. It was a close collaboration with the clients and the builder to create the desired impact on the right budget.
Redfern Terrace
This Redfern terrace is a successful creative collaboration between clients and architect. Located on a corner site with a slightly elevated position it revealed a potential for district views. The house is within a heritage conservation area. The clients’ involvements in the arts gave this project a unique aesthetic perspective. As with many buildings of this type the terrace renovation aimed at maximizing the penetration of natural light through to the central areas. The house combines space saving techniques and attention to detail to create a very comfortable inner city residence.
Surry Hills Terrace
This project is a great example of design innovation inspired by a restricted budget. Like many in its vicinity, the existing Surrey Hills terrace was located in a heritage conservation area restricing the scope for change to the front façade and roof line. The building is further limited by a very narrow site allowing a maximum of 2.9m internal width. The design maximises space through built in furniture, sliding doors and a seamless outdoor transition. This was achieved on a very small budget by using off-the-shelf fittings and joinery, which were carefully integrated for a seamless finish.
Paddington Terrace
This Paddington two-storey terrace sits on the high side of a very picturesque tree lined street. The design included rearranging the living spaces, kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms to create a functional home. A steel and timber stair is a feature of this house as it climbs through the floors with a glass balustrade that appears as one plane from the ground floor living space to the spacious attic. Light floods down from the skylights above through the stair void making the terrace feel spacious and lively.
Glebe Terrace
The renovation of this Victorian terrace has been a transformation from a dark, cold house with small rooms to a sunny, light, open-plan house. Due to the north westerly aspect and views towards the Anzac Bridge the building has been opened up towards the rear of the property. The use of high ceilings and full height glazing to all levels of this façade allows abundant light into the building, a direct connection to external decks and provides great use of available views.
The living room has been elevated three steps to allow for a future lower ground floor and to improve access to views. Furthermore it modulates the ground floor space and avoids the terrace becoming a long corridor.
