Copper-clad and streaming with light, the new Bondi townhouse offers a blueprint for compact multi-level living. On an exposed corner site in the leafy back streets of Bondi, it deftly balances natural light, garden outlooks and privacy, while leaving one or two tricks up its sleeve.
The compact narrow site was originally one of a pair of Inter-war semis. It adjoins a public walkway to its north-west and its neighbouring semi to the north-east, enlarged to two storeys. The slope of the site meant the public walkway presents a privacy challenge. The street is leafy and high, hugging the south Bondi ridge-line, with a sunny northerly aspect.
The clients are a mid-life couple: a teacher and sports media professional. They had occupied the original single-storey semi for some years before deciding to rebuild something more interesting and flexible for the future.
The clients wanted a small, distinctive, sustainable house for themselves and their large, well-loved dog. They needed a home office and accommodation for long visits from visiting overseas parents. A private, light-filled sanctuary within the busy Bondi hinterland. While the original house had a car space at front, they were prepared to forfeit this for the home office, but were also mindful of the value of off-street parking in Bondi.
The architects used the site topography to carve three distinct levels, modulating materials and form to give the building strength, character and privacy. On a site of just 153 square metres, they engineered a house of 212 square metres, fringed with landscape spaces for the owners to cultivate.
The small ground floor section forms a solid plinth for the upper levels. It contains a private home office and guest accommodation opening to a small front garden where the car space once was.
The main living level above uses the full building envelope for a light-filled sequence of spaces. A central courtyard punctuates this level, separating the kitchen (which opens to the rear courtyard) from the living room (that flows onto a sheltered balcony). Curved windows wrapping the courtyard allow sight lines through the entire sequence of spaces.
