Hawthorne Siblings are densification project consisting of an existing house relocation, renovation, and construction of a new pair of freehold three-story, three-bedroom houses on a 600m2 site that formerly housed a single home. This project created three new homes where the code traditionally would have allowed only for one.
The micro-lot dwellings have modest footprints, yet they are spacious and generous, thanks to careful design, siting, planning, and landscaping. This development illustrates how small footprint projects can offer densification solutions in our cities through re-evaluation of town planning policies and clever architectural interventions and provides a contemporary interpretation of the detached ‘Queenslander’ that fits the housing needs of the 21st century.
The houses created are products of innumerable constraints (setbacks, local area plan, character overlay, programs & budget) resolved in built form. However, to describe the architecture as a simple result of these constraints would be to overlook the architectural thinking that has balanced complex planning, privacy and environmental concerns with a careful economy of construction. The simplicity of the architectural language in this project has been distilled though a rigorous design and construction process that is infused with humble delight, modesty & appropriateness. Therein lies its beauty.
The final outcome is a reflection of a progressive regulator and a developer who innovates, that results in an architecture that takes selective elements from the traditional homes in the area and leaves other behind – ultimately re-writing the rule book for what small lot urban-living in Brisbane can be.
Team:
Architecture Interiors: REFRESH* Studio for Architecture
Town Planner: Viva Property Group
Builder: ABC Construction
Photographer: Scott Burrows
