Flipped House
Initiated by the desire to contemporise and replicate a 1960’s dwelling existing on the site. The original layout was embraced, but developed with today’s approach to living.
An existing rear bedroom wing was literally flipped and re-shaped to make way for a new swimming pool tracing the footprint of the former, with a luscious garden replacing the traditional yard. A core ideal within the brief was for a dense garden to engage with the internal living area. It evolved to become collection of secret, interconnecting landscaped rooms.
The site is steep and tall when viewed from the street, which inspired the stratification of the three main levels. The lower floor anchors the building to the site, wrapped with sandstone. The next, masonry, level with large spans of glazing engages with views, while the upper floor is deliberately solid to reflect the functional requirement of the bedrooms.
The landscape architect’s role was crucial, having to achieve two contrasting gardens, both with complex parameters, a front garden filled with abstract succulents and a layout mimicking the former garden layout, and a rear garden, dense with an array of tropical plants.
The core of the house was implemented around the kitchen area and exaggerated with a double height space. The first floor circulation wraps round this void allowing social connection between the floors for the family. The void also enhances the view created to the new rear garden from both levels. The core is defined by two timber boxes at ground floor that serve as functional storage containers for kitchen facilities, general storage and as a pocket to stash 4 large sliding glass doors that when open, create an ambiguity between the interior and the exterior.
The design solution actually reduced the dwellings footprint on the land and increased the area upon which soft landscape was installed. High on Bellevue Hill, the site retains great access to prevailing breezes form several directions, and the design allows such breezes to sweep through the house and exhaust hot summer air.
The dwelling’s rectilinear nature is relieved by the rear garden elements that evolve around pure curved geometries. A curving off form concrete wall contains the dense rear garden and defines the secret garden rooms beyond. The oversized kitchen bench is replicated in the concrete and a subtle curve has been incorporated into it’s belly as a visual link to the exterior elements. The timber boxes remain true and straight and thus all objects defining space have been designed true to their materials sculptural capacity.
