Issue 130 October 2019

Houses

Be inspired by the best contemporary residential architecture and design.

Houses2 min read
Musings
Despite how easy it may seem, simplicity in architecture is not straightforward – designing a house is complex and requires thoughtful planning and restraint. The homes in this issue express simplicity in varied ways, reflecting how we can do more wi
Houses2 min read
Fresh Finds
A rug that references aerial views of a verdant wine region, stone tiles inspired by the scents and tastes of Morocco and a curvaceous bathroom collection – these are just some of the exciting new products featured here. The latest collaboration betw
Houses4 min read
Glebe House By Chenchow Little
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 construct
Houses4 min read
Mount Stuart Greenhouse By Bence Mulcahy
The brief for a residential project can come in many forms. But at its richest, it maps out a way of living throughout the year, highlighting the moments of daily life that the owners feel will bring pleasure. The clients for this alteration and addi
Houses4 min read
Redfern Warehouse By Ian Moore Architects
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 w
Houses4 min read
Redfern Warehouse Meet The Owners
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 engineeri
Houses2 min read
Merve Kahraman
Merve Kahraman experienced a personal revelation when studying molecular biology and genetics. Realizing that this was not her passion, she quit her course and headed for Milan, where she studied at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), and then to L
Houses2 min read
Inside Out
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
Houses1 min read
Make An Entrance
Providing a high level of thermal performance and ventilation, custom sliding roofs by Tilt can help to address the passive heating and cooling needs of environmentally efficient homes like this one in Redfern, Sydney, by Marra and Yeh Architects. Ph
Houses3 min read
Winwood Mckenzie
The skills required to make architecture are garnered by virtue of patience and time. This is evident in the work of Thom Mckenzie, who has spent the past eight years quietly running his Melbourne-based architecture studio, Winwood Mckenzie. Operatin
Houses3 min read
Bookshelf
There are some stories of Australian modernism that are ingrained in the country’s psyche: there’s the story of the Sydney Opera House and the plucking of Jørn Utzon’s competition-winning design from a bin; there’s Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Ma
Houses3 min read
The New Granny Flat
ERSKINEVILLE CREATURE by Retallack Thompson THE GARDEN BUNKIE by Reddog Architects (GR)ANCILLARY DWELLING by Crump Architects At a time when typical nuclear families are less common than empty-nest baby boomers, single parents and those living alo
Houses4 min read
Vikki’s Place By Curious Practice
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.
Houses4 min read
Albert Villa By Bureau Proberts
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 contemp
Houses4 min readEconomics
White House By Robson Rak
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 restra
Houses2 min read
A Design Studio
Alex Fitzpatrick, founder of A Design Studio, is fascinated by the scientific and poetic aspects of light – the technical details of a lighting fixture and the ambient effects of the diffused light. “I try to capture light within a material without t
Houses4 min read
Rob Kennon Architects
“It’s all about people.” Rob Kennon is resolute when we meet, rapidly diverting the focus of our conversation away from the brief and from architecture itself and firmly onto the people who commission, build and inhabit the homes he designs. In twent
Houses3 min read
Page Street by Clare Cousins Architects
Starting my practice was a leap of faith. For many architects, the impetus to go it alone comes from a significant commission, but this wasn’t the case for me. I didn’t have one great project tempting me to start my own practice, but rather the odd k
Houses4 min readArchitecture
Balmoral House By Chrofi
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 ben
Houses4 min readEconomics
Sussex By Powell And Glenn And Mim Design
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
Houses3 min readEconomics
Bundeena Beach House By Grove Architects
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 R
Houses5 min read
Albert Park Terrace By Wellard Architects
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
Houses5 min read
Osborne House by Richard Leplastrier
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,” t
Houses2 min read
Kangaroo Valley Outhouse
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 th

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