Table of contents for Issue 130 October 2019 in Houses

Design is essentially a process of editing. In the context of architecture, the infinite possibilities for how space and material might be assembled need to be imagined, assessed and then executed – first on paper and in models, and finally constructed at full scale. Glebe House by Chenchow Little is sited on an awkwardly shaped block, hemmed in by neighbours. The compact dwelling was designed for a family of five and conveys a succinct architectural approach based on skilful editing. Described by practice director Tony Chenchow as “an exploration of volume, form and light,” Glebe House reflects the architects’ resolute commitment to expanding the sculptural potential of architecture. Beginning with a solid form, derived by extruding the occupiable site area as dictated by local council setback requirements, the architects strategically…

Emily Wong Could you tell me a little about your background? Ryan Curnick I grew up in country Western Australia and began my professional life as a mechanical engineer. I almost became an architect, but at the eleventh hour I decided that engineering was a safer bet. I only worked as an engineer for a couple of years before pursuing a career in patent law. Until a couple of years ago I was a partner in a big patent attorney practice. But behind the guise of the patent attorney, I’m a bit of a design geek and a classic-car nut. EW Why did you decide to engage an architect? RC I think my partner and I had always planned to use an architect for this project. We had previously renovated…

Brisbane’s vernacular traditions are a source of inexhaustible enquiry for contemporary architects. For Terry McQuillan, director of Brisbane practice Bureau Proberts, unpicking and re-packing the worker’s cottage architectural type to make a contemporary home for himself and his wife Charlie has been an irresistible challenge, twice taken up. This second iteration began as a speculative proposal following the completion of the couple’s Wooloowin House project; once the pair observed the latent potential of Albert Villa, sited on 235 square metres with three street frontages in the inner-city enclave of Petrie Terrace, they agreed to upgrade. Albert Villa was constructed in 1885 by Peter Albert and is included in Rod Fisher’s 1988 local survey of historic houses, Petrie-Terrace Brisbane 1858–1988, in which it’s described as “a four-roomed core beneath a pyramid-shaped…

Bundeena is a place of contrasts. Its location, only twenty-five kilometres south of Sydney as the crow flies, might suggest a popular getaway destination. However, restricted accessibility (a ferry ride from Cronulla or a winding drive through the Royal National Park) protects it from the hordes. It also adds an extra degree of difficulty to building projects. Sydney residents Kathy and Shiva approached Grove Architects to design a new family holiday home to replace a damp, rundown shack on their complex Bundeena site. Their brief asked for an unimposing house that, unlike the existing shack, would maximize their connection to the natural environment and celebrate the site’s expansive western water views. Following an extended design period, a local foreman was engaged alongside the selected Sydney-based contractor to manage issue of…

The client’s brief for White House was to convert an existing heritage house into an open, light-filled home. To take on this task, they gravitated toward the classic architecture of Robson Rak. Although the practice’s projects typically value restraint over excess, the clients’ request for an all-white palette asked the architects to take this approach a step further. Here, the texture and material typically seen in Robson Rak’s work takes a back seat. With the exception of whitewashed oak linings and sparing touches of marble, the finishes are generally white, with very little colour variation. Between the powdercoated steel, porcelain floor and white render, the palette largely sits in a narrow spectrum between pure white and off-white. Throughout the house, the detailing is important, ensuring crisp, clean edges and uninterrupted…

Australia holds the inglorious record of having some of the largest houses in the world, placed behind only the United States in terms of average size. Bigger is generally seen as better. There are, however, instances where clients are seeing the benefits of better designed, smaller homes that offer greater amenity and less maintenance. The Balmoral House designed by Chrofi, for example, sits on just half the land area of its neighbours. Though not a particularly small house compared to the national average, it represents a significant downsize for the clients and delivers an upgrade to family life. The clients’ previous home on Sydney’s North Shore was a rambling, multistorey house with poor connection between the living spaces and the terraced gardens. All their free time was spent maintaining a…

Adding an extension to a terrace house is a common architectural design brief in the inner suburbs of Australian cities and Wellard Architects had completed a number of such projects before this one. “Most terraces, as a typology, are about cramming as much program into them as possible on a tight footprint,” says practice director Huw Wellard. In Albert Park Terrace, Wellard Architects took a risk: rather than squeeze in an extra bedroom, they decided to create a double-height void above the kitchen and dining space. It was a risk that this particular client was happy to take, because this time Huw was designing for himself and his young family. He doesn’t regret the decision. Not only does it bring northerly light into the south-facing extension, it also allows acoustic…

Ask any Aussie to describe their experience of an outhouse and chances are it won’t be good. These typically stuffy, awkward timber structures seemingly in the middle of nowhere are hardly what you’d call sophisticated. And those flies. Along with that heat. But outhouses are a necessity, often hard-working and generally serve their purpose well. So it was only a matter of time before the outdoor dunny received an image overhaul. For Madeleine Blanchfield Architects, the brief to design a new bathroom separate to their clients’ existing cabin was an opportunity to reimagine, with whimsy, a typology common in Australia throughout the first half of the twentieth century. The outhouse was to be situated low on a lush hillside in the Kangaroo Valley, south of Sydney. “We wanted to create…

Many people dream of living in a converted warehouse. They imagine spaciousness, high ceilings, roof trusses and old bricks. One young family searched Sydney for six years before finding such a building in Redfern, only to discover that – like most warehouses – it had some serious drawbacks. West-facing and uninsulated, the building was blisteringly hot in summer and freezing through winter. The noise of rain on the raw tin roof was so deafening that conversations had to be abandoned when a storm rolled in and an unsympathetic nineties renovation had created a jumble of useless rooms. So, they employed Ian Moore Architects to completely reform the warehouse – to make it into a communal family home with gardens and a pool, a workshop and garage for a beloved car…

01 Kyoto outdoor sconce Available in Australia from Spence and Lyda, LA-based Atelier de Troupe’s Kyoto outdoor sconces have softly rounded edges in sand-cast aluminium reminiscent of the adobe aesthetic of New Mexico. These handmade sculptures are resistant to the elements. spenceandlyda.com.au 02 Elements ceramic tile collection Suitable for indoor and outdoor applications, the Elements flooring and walling tile collection is inspired by the dusty, earthy colours of nature. The range is offered in three sizes and six base colours including ‘Charcoal,’ ‘Coffee’ and ‘Taupe’ (pictured). johnsontiles.com.au 03 Kilt lounge armchair Designed by Marcello Ziliani for Ethimo, the versatile Kilt dining chair becomes a comfortable lounge armchair, enhancing outdoor spaces with neutral tones that can complement a range of designs. The Kilt armchair is available with a teak or steel…

On one hand, Vikki’s Place is a delightful and humble residence, full of light and air, and remarkably flexible. On the other, it is a prototype, an exemplar of the resilience that more architecture will have to take on in the era of climate change. Located on flood-prone-land in the coastal city of Newcastle, this house can withstand a 1.6-metre inundation. This project answers to a brief much larger than the client’s. Recently, I heard Curious Practice’s Warren Haasnoot and Greg Lee talk about their growing body of work. They showed a raft of careful, intelligent and elegant projects; not only is their practice young, it is prolific. But one project made me sit up in my chair for a number of reasons – and that was Vikki’s Place. A…

The term “downsizing” is a relative one. While most downsizers’ needs are catered for by the deluge of standardized apartments being constructed in Australia’s inner-city suburbs, there also exists a population of homeowners who seek the benefits of low-maintenance apartment life without losing any of the amenity their previous homes offered. The four apartments of Sussex deliver this amenity in spades: each one is approximately 260 square metres, significantly larger than both the average Australian apartment (125 square metres) and the average Australian house (230 square metres) built between 2017 and 2018. Despite this size, each of the four dwellings has been beautifully planned to feel like a comfortable and generous family home rather than a bloated “McApartment.” Located in Brighton in Melbourne’s inner south-east, Sussex is surrounded by polite…

Almost one hundred years ago, the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier declared “a house is a machine for living in” (Vers une Architecture, 1923). But in contrast to Le Corbusier’s sleek white constructs or today's appliance-like “automated homes,” the mechanistic qualities of the Osborne House on Sydney’s Pittwater, with its thin skin and the stripped-back revelation of all its parts, recall a motorbike or a yacht. It is genuinely responsive and flexible, but the occupant must be proactive in operating it, pulling its levers and opening its hatches in response to the climate and the needs of their own occupation. As Tom, the home’s current owner, says with reference to a well-played soccer pass, it is “a house with information” not didacticism, but it is deterministic in its necessity for involvement,…