Clovelly Beach House

Clovelly Beach House

This warm and inviting family home sits comfortably within its coastal setting. The design is a practical response to a difficult site and also a modern take on a traditional beach house aesthetic.

The topography of the site presented a challenge to the arrangement of new and existing spaces and their connection to a steeply sloping ground plane. In response to this, new-build areas of the house are lowered a half level to connect interior living spaces seamlessly with the large deck, pool and landscaped rear yard. This creates opportunity for soaring ceilings and dramatic internal volumes.

The renovation uses traditional materials and techniques as a nod to the ‘beach house’ typology. This is combined with a bold sandstone street elevation, which emulates the texture and colour of nearby cliffs and public retaining walls.

Modern elements of the home, like the double height spaces and large glazed openings, combine well with more traditional elements. The symmetry of the front facade gives an easy street presence to the home and allows a double garage to be integrated without imposition.

The majority of the new building work has been constructed using sustainably sourced timber with walls insulated to minimise heating and cooling loads. Landscaped areas of the site are maximised with mature trees at the front of the site retained. The internal spaces of the home are light and bright with large glazed openings sized, screened and orientated to ensure maximum comfort levels in the internal spaces. Large roof eaves shade the windows of the top floor bedrooms, which combine with a large ventilated ceiling void to keep sleeping areas cool year round.

Completed: 2017

Bondi Junction Terrace

Bondi Junction Terrace

An alteration and addition to this Victorian terrace involved the restoration of the facade while an extension was added at the rear of the building. With natural light largely blocked by neighbouring buildings, the upper level of the addition has been set back from one outside wall to allow for large skylights. Additional light is let into the downstairs living areas though the stair void. The material palette consists of American Oak, marble and subway tiles. 

Completed: 2015

Tamarama Terraces

Tamarama Terraces

Utilising a palette of natural materials, including marble, granite and sandstone, this row of three terrace-style residences reflects an urban sensibility while embracing and blending into its coastal setting. Anchoring the building, off form concrete is used to create splayed forms, ribbed external facades and internal ceiling, wall and floor finishes. Timber wall panelling and flooring adds warmth and additional texture to the interiors, which are well lit by highlight windows situated to maximise north sun. Folding and sliding screens manage privacy and shading.

Each of the residences is unique and designed to make the most of views and solar access while creating privacy for the occupants. The main living areas are on the slightly elevated ground floor. An open plan approach is taken to the layout of the kitchen, dinning and living areas to make the most of views and solar access. The second and third bedrooms are situated on the lower ground floor. The master suite is located on the first floor, which enjoy panoramic views of the ocean and surrounding area.

Completed: 2016

North Bondi Townhouses

North Bondi Townhouses

This new-build multi residential development of four townhouses in North Bondi showcases medium-density living of a reproducible type and scale. All four homes sit comfortably on a standard size suburban block and contribute positively to the surrounding neighbourhood. Finely-crafted folding western red cedar timber screens provide privacy to the cantilevered balconies at the front of the building and add a layer of architectural detailing to ensure it presents well to the street. The warmth of the timber screens is contrasted with the robust off-form concrete of the ground floor façade and front boundary wall.

Inside, windows and skylights are used to create a light and spacious interior in response to the constraints implicit in situating four three-bedroom homes on a single suburban block. Highlight windows are used throughout the project to maximise natural light and give views to the sky and neighbouring trees, while skylights above the large stair void bring cool natural light in from above.

While each unit is unique, the building as a whole retains a coherent design aesthetic with interior materials and detailing a continuation of the building’s exterior.

Completed: 2016

Clovelly Semi-detached

Clovelly Semi-detatched

The alteration and addition to this semi-detached home in Clovelly involved restoring the facade and front areas of the dwelling and adding an open plan living area to the rear. A spacious feel to an otherwise narrow building is achieved through high ceilings and highlight windows, which allow in additional light. Sliding doors in the living area open up to the deck allowing the occupant to easily increase the useable floorspace. The material palette consists of American Oak, marble, v-groove and subway tiles.

Completed: 2014

Bondi House

Bondi House

Situated on a sloping corner site with a north aspect, the alteration and addition to this Bondi house was informed by both light and topography. To address the sloping site, a cascading floor plane drops down two sets of steps from the front to the rear of the house culminating in a sunken lounge, which opens out through bifold doors onto a rear courtyard. The resulting high ceiling in the lounge area allows for highlight windows above the bifold doors. External shutters are employed to filter light and create privacy. 

The use of traditional building materials and techniques is contrasted with modern forms, including large roof eaves and pop out forms. The material palette consists of European Oak, marble, concrete and v-groove lining boards. A timber lined bay window lends additional space and function to the dining area.  

Completed: 2017

Bronte House

Bronte House

Situated on a narrow block and hemmed in on both sides, creating a light and spacious interior was a key challenge in designing an alteration and addition to this house in Bronte. Highlight windows, a landscaped light well and a stair void with skylights over an open riser stair ensure the space enjoys an abundance of natural light, while high ceilings add to the sense space. A material palette of Oak and marble add to the light and spacious feel of the interior with black steel accents providing contrast.

Completed: 2015

Caringbah House

Caringbah House

Set over two levels, this spacious new-build home pays special attention to the composition of forms through detailing and the choice of natural and raw materials. 

On the ground level, a concrete plinth creates a solid base for the cantilevered rooms above, which add interior space to the upper level without extending the building’s footprint. Splayed deep window reveals on the upper level mirror the solidity of the plinth. As a counterpoint, western red cedar soffits warm and soften the exterior, while timber screens manage privacy and shading

At the heart of the home, a central courtyard captures north light. Large windows facing onto the courtyard allow this light deep into the building’s spacious open-plan interior. 

Completed: 2018