The setting of this project is Elizabeth Bay, Sydney; one of Australia’s most densely populated areas. A long north/south orientated site of 1400m2 on Sydney Harbour, which was originally part of Macleay’s Elizabeth Bay House estate. To build a house in this location and on this site was both a privilege and a challenge.
The client wanted a house that would add positively to the streetscape and connect the occupants to this rich and varied context, while also providing a private and secluded inner world. A house that would simultaneously provide prospect and refuge.
The plan of the three level house with its wide central hallway, inner courtyard and double height verandah to the north, gives visual transparency and connection to the rich surrounds, cross ventilation, protection from sun and rain, but most importantly a real sense of enclosure and privacy. The project also included the integration and restoration of a heritage-listed boatshed, a pool and associated facilities and significant landscape works.
The primary architectural elements that define the house are load bearing brick walls, which have a warmth, colour and timeless character which, will weather and age with dignity. Forming the balance of the façade are beautiful western red cedar panel sometimes 9 metres high. They act as cladding, window and furnishing simultaneously. Brass, timber, steel and copper elements complement the brickwork and cedar panels.
In all, the house attests to a significant collaboration between Architect, builder and the many contractors and artisans required to build a house of this complexity. It also attests to a belief in the hand made, the crafted and the local. The process was underpinned by a client willing to trust in this collaboration and to appreciate and understand the significance of the project and its aims.
Show Comments