In leafy suburban Willoughby, we built House Maher. The street is characterised by quaint, gable fronted 1920s bungalows that are rapidly being bull-dozed in favour of enormous cookie-cutter mansions. We were commissioned to build a new family house by our client, who has MS and is in a wheelchair. She has a husband, a son and a labrador.

Our project is a celebration of the suburban type. It is essentially a diagram of a house.  It recalls the 1920s bungalow that was in elevation, but is also flattened out and enlarged, creating a sense of the uncanny.Similarly, the planning strategy is a familiar double loaded corridor plan, but the scale is overblown, and the section goes rogue creating a joyful and surprising bunch of interior spaces for our often home-bound client.

The design is carefully calibrated to our client’s needs, including enlarged circulation, large door openings, grab rails are custom designed and double as towel rails, the kitchen bench is on a hydraulic lift.

The interior of House Maher is a series of diagrammatic house-sections within a diagrammatic house-shaped extrude. The form is a response to the suburban setting dominated by Federation and 1920s houses addressing leafy, established rear gardens. The interior is a rich world of views through spaces and within spaces for our wheelchair-bound client. 

The sectional form of the house is derived from the elevation outline of the 1920s bungalow we demolished. Its gable-ended recycled brick walls sit effortlessly in the suburban context.

While the house is designed to meet Emma's specific needs, and the needs of her family and carers, her priority was the creation of an evocative interior experience. 

Circulation spaces and room sizes are large to allow for easy turning. Clearances under joinery are allowed. Material choices are careful, the interiors uses robust, prosaic materials like ply and plasterboard in interesting ways to create a rich, feminine interior experience. Where possible, programs are overlapped to reduce circulation.

Material Used:

1. Precision Flooring_Solid American white oak

2. Airlite_Custom made western red cedar timber windows and doors

3. Dulux_Vivid White wash and wear_walls