"The design of this project is driven by passive sustainable design principles.
As such, the house is designed as two discrete volumes (one double and one single storey) connected by a low level link between two courtyards. With north to the rear of the site, Pop sited the double storey volume at the street front to maximise light penetration and natural ventilation into all habitable spaces. The courtyards have been used as a device to increase the number of north facing rooms.
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The facade is made up of a series of different forms to reduce the scale of the building within the streetscape and create multi-aspect rooms." Via Pop Architecture
The core idea for this new home was to maximise natural light and create controlled views. The brief stipulated generous areas for entertaining and accommodating guests, the majority of which was to be located at ground level. In order to achieve the Client’s desire for natural light and ventilation to every room and with considerable program at ground level, the key formal intervention was to split the house, creating a dividing courtyard between two building volumes, with the two storey portion consolidated to the south of the block. In each building, living zones have been located at northern ends with ancillary spaces located to the south.
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With the decision to split the house into two buildings came the exploration of how these two forms – one double and one single storey would relate to each other. In both cases the roof plane became an important device for controlling bulk and creating multi-aspect rooms. The street facing double storey building is composed of a rectilinear ground floor plinth and an upper level which merges façade and roof plane by presenting as a series of separate volumes of varying scale and proportion. The contrast between the ground level and level 1 façade treatment creates a datum line at ground floor ceiling level.
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This datum line is a device which transfers to the rear single storey building, but at bench height. The articulation of the roof line is just as important in the single storey form. The composition of the asymmetrical skillion roof serves multiple purposes. It allows for the incorporation of a north facing clerestory window & raised ceiling in the middle section of the building which floods the floorplate with light. The roof pitch also minimizes the south façade height so that the ground floor northern rooms of the double storey form are privy to direct light and sky views via the courtyard. Additionally, the roof serves as a passive screening device to the level 1 bedrooms, by directing views upward and therefore avoiding overlooking of neighbouring properties.
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In developing the architectural form and façade of the building we were loosely inspired by the ubiquitous 1980s tiled roofs in the area. There’s a great series of works by Bill Henson which elevates the landscape of suburban tiled roofs to an abstract and dramatic texture. We were interested in doing something similar here – a reinterpretation of the local context using fluted stone and interconnected forms to enhance the effect of light hitting the façade, catch light in unexpected places and scale the building appropriately to the street. This material expression was also explored internally, playing with scale and finishes.
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Located in a suburban context with other large homes in close proximity, one of the key concept objectives was to passively control and create views. To minimise the use of blunt tools, such as 75% opaque views below 1700mm, building mass and rooms have been arranged to create long north–south views through the house, creating outward and inward looking views without compromising privacy.
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Team:
Architects: Pop Architecture & Karyne Murphy Studio
Architect: Pop Architecture
Interior Design: Karyne Murphy Studio & Pop
Architecture Landscape Designer: Amanda Oliver Gardens
Pop Architecture is an architectural design practice led by Katherine Sainsbery and Justine Brennan. Pop is motivated by great design outcomes and great relationships with clients and collaborators.
Katherine and Justine each have over 15 years of experience working in both large and medium scale practices. Between the two of them, they have a diverse range of experience in the residential, education and infrastructure urban design sectors. Pop is interested in projects of all types and scales.
While the Melbourne based practice is passionate about materiality, expression of form and architectural language, Pop prioritises a collaborative and project specific design response. Pop prides itself on the ability to listen and creatively respond to the functional drivers of a client brief.
Driven by a rigorous design process which distils response to site, materiality, structural expression and landscape into considered architectural form, the design of a project is typically characterised by the contrast of strong solid elements with finer detailed elements. This sensibility is flexible and easily translatable to projects of any scale or type, where the emphasis is always on the simple and effective expression of ideas.
Pop Architecture fully understands the myriad of issues faced in a project and have the ability to accurately program, lead and coordinate a project team with their clients. Katherine and Justine’s experience covers all project phases, from the development of project briefs and masterplans through to the design, documentation and construction of award winning projects.
