Innehållsförteckning för Issue 102 February från Houses

People the world over form strong attachments to their particular bodies of water – be it harbours, rivers or lakes – and residents of Victoria’s Ballarat are no exception. While not the city’s geographic centre, Lake Wendouree is definitely its civic heart, with residents regularly gravitating to its shores. The lake is, however, actually an artificial construct. Originally Yuille’s Swamp, it was dammed to provide the burgeoning town with a recreational hub and its banks have since become the city’s most prized stretch of real estate, with tightly held parcels of land rarely changing hands. As long-time Ballarat locals, the clients understood this and offered John Wardle Architects the commission for their home on the proviso that it “would do justice to the lake.” Discussing the genesis of the project,…

Located in the south-eastern corner of the South Arm Peninsula, just outside Hobart, Clifton Beach is uniquely positioned on an isthmus between Pipe Clay Lagoon to the north and its popular surf beach to the south. The clients for Lagoon House by Taylor and Hinds Architects wanted a residence that was intimately matched to their lifestyle of camping, surfing and gardening. They are fellow surfers and friends of the directors of this emerging practice, Poppy Taylor and Mat Hinds, and placed their faith in them as they knew the architects shared and therefore understood their lifestyle. The architects presented two images for their site analysis. One was a close view of the branching structure, dappled shade and peeling bark of the swamp gums that populate the site, the other a…

Dipping and sliding downhill off Sydney’s flamboyant and well-trafficked Oxford Street is a significantly less travelled but in some ways no less colourful suburban thoroughfare. Boasting none of the main drag’s eclectic flash and trash, gay bars and high-end designers, its vivacity lies instead in a charmingly heterogeneous range of typologies. Diverse housing styles somehow complement one another in a rich melange. Old, single-storey worker’s cottages, three-storey warehouse-cum-galleries, traditional two-up two-down brick terraces, and freestanding weatherboard homes are all cosily compressed in the tightest of inner-city spaces. While the mix has the potential to suggest a distracting randomness and lack of cohesion, it feels pleasingly, communally eccentric. Perched in the middle of this mix and recently added is the only new home to join the assembly in the past hundred…

01 Could you tell us a little about your family and your background? We are Anna, Lloyd, Eamon and Sascha, and we moved to this house eight years ago, just before Sascha was born. I work as a public health researcher at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, and Lloyd works as a medical researcher at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and is also studying to become a photographer. Eamon and Sascha are in primary school. 02 Why did you decide to engage an architect? We knew we wanted to renovate and we had a broad vision of what we wanted, but committing to a renovation was a huge step for our family. We wanted to make sure the renovation was done as smoothly as possible and that it…

Few people conspicuously leave their mark on the city, but renowned architect Harry Seidler’s influence is undoubtedly lasting and far-reaching. A major retrospective exhibition, curated by New York-based Vladimir Belogolovsky and Sydney Living Museums’ Dr Caroline Butler-Bowdon, traces Seidler’s life story along with his remarkable creative collaborations and the key residential, commercial and institutional projects that defined his career. Harry Seidler (1923–2006) was known as a crusader for modernism. After growing up in Vienna he lived in England and Canada during World War II, where he developed a passion for architecture. After studying at Harvard University, he worked in Marcel Breuer’s New York office from 1946 to 1948, during which time his mother enticed him to Sydney to build her a house. With the success of the Rose Seidler House…

Every now and then I have the opportunity to visit a house renovation and extension that is practically archetypal in its configuration. Some architectural formulas are repeated often for the simple reason that they work so well. This is the case with the Sandringham House by Techne Architecture and Interior Design, in collaboration with Doherty Design Studio, who designed the interiors. The project started its life as the proverbial “worst house on the best street,” a rather tumbledown weatherboard cottage that was so worn and weather-warped that you couldn’t close the front door on a humid day. Despite its ramshackle condition, the client and project designers were equally committed to retaining the cottage frontage, to a depth of two rooms, as a gesture to the existing streetscape. This is a…

Crippled by high rent prices, many “average” income earners in London can no longer save enough money to scramble onto the capital’s property ladder. A Centre for London report published in September 2014 coined the acronym ENDIES (Employed with No Disposable Income or Savings) to describe them. A Place Called Home was a timely challenge to four design practices, Jasper Morrison, Patternity, Raw-Edges and Studioilse, to each design a house that reflects their vision of what homes could be. Installed in Trafalgar Square during the London Design Festival, their pitched-roof rectangular houses were of identical size, but otherwise inventively dissimilar. Morrison designed his Home of a Pigeon Fancier because, as he said, “who else would choose to live in the middle of Trafalgar Square?” Prominent notices dissuading tourists from feeding…

01 2015 Houses Awards Don’t forget – entries close 27 March 2015 Providing a unique insight into contemporary residential architecture, the Houses Awards celebrate Australia’s best houses, apartments and gardens. Excellence is awarded across eight categories, with the best house receiving the premier award of Australian House of the Year. housesawards.com.au 02 Takahiro Iwasaki: Itsukushima Reflection Model On until 6 April 2015 Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki creates intricately detailed models that reinterpret contemporary cityscapes and iconic historic buildings. The National Gallery of Victoria is showing one of Iwasaki’s largest models – one that focuses on the sixth-century Shinto shrine of Itsukushima, which rests on the tidal flats of Japan’s Inland Sea. ngv.vic.gov.au 03 Adelaide Festival of Arts 2015 27 February – 15 March 2015 In Adelaide? Join in a celebration…

01 Murobond paint Water-based Murobond paints appeal to Tobias Partners as they are available in a large range of custom colours and textures. The practice used a custom colour called ‘Parsley Red’ at the Parsley Bay Residence (pictured). murobond.com.au 02 Travertine marble Tobias Partners enjoys using travertine marble for its consistency in colour and texture, as well as for its classic, timeless appearance. euromarble.com.au 03 Bega wall luminaires Bega produces beautiful fittings of very high quality and performance. One of Tobias Partners’ favourites is the Bega Surface washer floodlight with G 1/2 and G 3/8 connecting threads. zumtobel.com/au-enbega.com/en 04 Vola tapware Beautifully resolved by Arne Jacobsen, this versatile tapware range by Vola embodies quintessential timeless design for Tobias Partners. The Vola KV1, seen here at the Double Bay House, was…

An old bungalow in Sydney’s Mosman turns a fresh face to the street, with recently restored white-painted cedar shingles, a red roof and pebble-dash-rendered chimneys. Subtly peeking out from behind it, a new box – rectangular and two storeys high – sits closely and comfortably, articulating a contemporary play on the “old.” Materiality from the old bungalow is carried throughout this new extension. Pebble dash render on the western wall has been extended from the original dwelling onto the lower level of the addition, while the upper level is clad with cedar shingles to match the old. The colour of the existing stone pavers along the entry is mimicked in concrete, wrapping the retaining walls through to the backyard. Although they are presented in different ways, this reflection of the…

John and his partner Kim have a passion for sustainable building materials and were considering building their home underground. After visiting a sustainability fair and learning about the benefits of Hebel® , they decided it was the ideal material to build their Southern Highlands home with. They wanted to build using a sustainable material that would not intrude on the environment but be embraced by it. Inspired by Adobe mud brick houses, they used Hebel® to achieve this desired look. Now, seventeen years since building their home, they still love the look as well as the comfortable living environment it has continued to provide. Hebel® is an innovative masonry building product that creates a more comfortable living environment, boasts high acoustic-absorbing properties and is fast becoming a popular building material…

Although this house in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs fronts the street, many of the neighbouring houses – including one directly behind it – stand on battleaxe blocks accessed by private driveways. Subdividing the area must have caused the original developers a few headaches, which continue today for architects commissioned to design houses on sites that are hemmed in or overlooked by a number of large, adjoining properties. “So many houses in Sydney look outwards,” says Mark Pearse of Pearse Architects, “but this one couldn’t do that, and there are privacy issues on three sides. Here the site dictated the way the house had to be designed. We came up with the idea that it should be self-contained and self-sufficient – that it should feel like a private domain.” Mark, working…

There’s always a tipping point where a work of architecture transcends simple fulfilment of its brief and steps into another territory altogether. It could happen through a special relationship with the landscape, a poetic resolution of materials with structure or perhaps a dramatic sculpting of light. Whatever the reasons may be, this moment when a project becomes more than just the sum of its parts is what every architect strives for. For the Bow House, the moment arrives with the appreciation of just how hard the architects have worked every surface, every junction and the relationship of each space. There is not a single corner of this modestly scaled home that has not been explored and does not contribute in some way to the thinking of the house as a…

Angelo Candalepas is skilled at designing quality multiple housing and public buildings. In spite of budget restraints, he always manages to explore big ideas to provide texture and depth to facades. His practice, Candalepas Associates, has become a go-to for developers wanting a dramatic building for a reasonable budget. How that skill translates to single residential projects, with more spectacular sites and greater time for consideration, is interesting. Rather than his designs getting grander, they seem to become more subtle or nuanced and more humble in their presentation to the neighbourhood. His approach to reworking existing buildings is careful and thoughtful and his empathy for the occupants’ daily lives shines through this finished project. Birchgrove House, as purchased by the clients in mid-2009 (at Angelo’s recommendation), was a terrace consisting…

01 Big News wallcovering Made from recycled newspaper and paperboard with polyester yard, Big News is a wallcovering that makes a statement. It is breathable, which aids in reducing mould and mildew on the wall, and is available in six colourways. instyle.com.au 02 Quattria Magda Bookshelf This minimalist L-shaped bookshelf and hanger comes in left or right configurations. It is made of painted steel tube with ends of lathed beechwood, and is available in white or black to suits a variety of interior schemes. temperaturedesign.com.au 03 Mammoth Chair Designed by Knut Bendik Humlevik and Rune Krøjgaard, the Mammoth Chair is a modern winged armchair handcrafted with a solid oak frame. The Slim version (pictured) comes in premium tan leather, while the Fluffy version is upholstered and available in black canvas…

01 Large-format porcelain tiles Maximum large-format porcelain tiles (pictured in Mercury) are ideal for use on benchtops as they are scratch, stain, acid and heat resistant. The tiles are pictured here in the Melville Street Residence by Fiona Lynch, alongside Elba stone, which features elegant cool grey tones, soft brown markings and low porosity. artedomus.com 02 Wine Preservation range Available in seven sizes, the units in Sub-Zero’s Wine Preservation range can stand alone, be built in or be concealed behind custom cabinets. They feature up to three storage zones, which are digitally controlled to maintain the temperature, humidity and UV protection that wines require. multyflex.com.au 03 E15 chopping boards Available in solid oak or Carrara marble (pictured), the chopping boards in the E15 homewares range are both functional and beautiful.…

When we think of flat-pack furniture it often brings to mind a particular Swedish brand, but it can also evoke images of lounge room floors scattered with components and paper instructions, or disappointingly wobbly shelves. Worse still, we may remember pieces that went together quickly but then rapidly lost their shine. Nomi is an Australian company offering flat-pack furniture at an affordable price, while defying the assumption that it is of lower quality or will have a shorter life. In addition, the platform offers a unique level of customization. The business idea bubbled along in the backs of the minds of designer Tomek Archer and property developer Michael Grassi for almost ten years before they met online marketing specialist Henry Gresson, who presented ways to engage twenty-first-century buyers. Tomek spends…

Seal Rocks is a small coastal settlement on the mid north coast of New South Wales, where a nineteenth-century lighthouse stands watch over the vast Pacific Ocean and the few other elements of the village: two streets, a shop and a caravan park. There’s only one winding way in, and between the scores of potholes you’ll find quite a bit of road graffiti. Among the peace signs and love hearts fading on the bitumen you can also make out “The Last Frontier” and “Save Seal Rocks.” These symbols and slogans leave you with no doubt that you are about to enter a world that the local community has fought hard to protect. Needless to say it’s an unpretentious place, with a humble streetscape that backs onto scrubby subtropical jungle. The…

Sun + Life + Useful Form = Architectural magic”1 was a formula given by renowned Brisbane architect John Dalton (1927–2007) to students of architecture in 1961. It highlights a set of preoccupations contributing to a style instantly recognizable to Brisbane’s architectural cognoscenti as the “Dalton house,” characterized by dark-stained timber and white walls across which sunlight and shadows play. These preoccupations are evident in the Dalton house revisited here, located in Brisbane’s western suburbs and completed in 1978. Designed in the later part of his career, it is far from a simple iteration of his successful formula. In many respects it is the culmination of architectural investigations over the previous twenty years. The trademark palette of materials is present, but deployed in a way that differs from the typical extended…