Group Housing | The Sydney Retreat
Stanmore, NSW
The Sydney Retreat is a not-for-profit residential facility for recovery from alcohol and drug dependency. It is run by a group of professional and business men and women all with experience dealing with the problems around drug and alcohol addiction.
The Sydney Retreat represents a non-clinical, mutual-help approach to the problem of alcohol and drug dependency. Based on a highly successful model that originates from Minnesota. The Sydney Retreat will foster a supportive, educational setting that is grounded in the spiritual principles of AA. The result is an innovative residential recovery facility providing time-out from daily life, in a safe and supportive environment.
The original house on the site is one of four, grand, heritage- listed Victorian villas in a row, dating to the 1880’s. There was an existing, ancillary structure to the rear of the site, possibly originally used for stabling and, later, as garaging and a workshop. The original house had been extensively altered and added to over time, most notably at the rear, and had, for many years, been used as a boarding house.
The design philosophy, and approach, was to maintain and restore as much of the original house as possible. The main, grand front portion of the house was retained and restored, with reversible internal interventions. The much-altered, original rear wing was also retained and sympathetically adapted for the new role. Much later, unsympathetic and poor quality additions to the rear of the house were identified as having no heritage significance and were, therefore, selectively removed.
The ‘shell’ of the former workshop building was retained. Built to the rear and side boundaries, it provided much needed floor area that would not be permitted to be replicated, in new construction, by local authorities. The bounding masonry walls to the workshop were retained and a new, two-storey addition was constructed, connected to the rear or the original house and emerging from the envelope of the workshop building. This new addition is of unquestionably contemporary form, detail and material, clearly distinct from the original but respectful in terms of scale, detail and siting. This new work helps to define the central, north-facing landscaped courtyard, a space that is seen as key to the functioning of the facility.
The Sydney Retreat provides shared sleeping quarters for residents and common facilities including, meeting rooms, dining, and kitchen, all grouped around the shared courtyard. The heritage villa provides the comfort of cultural and built continuity and memory, while the new work provides light, comfortable, contemporary spaces that inspire togetherness, reflection and recovery.
The Sydney Retreat began construction in early 2020 and was complete by late 2020.
Intergenerational Housing
The project is located in the idyllic Sydney suburb of Kurraba Point with views over Shell Cove to Sydney Harbour. This project involves the subdivision, alterations and additions of an existing 1900’s dual occupancy house, to create two separate dwellings suitable for intergenerational housing. Our client plans to reside in one of the dwellings and have his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren live next door.
The design has been informed through thorough analysis of local planning controls. The proposed design is successful in meeting the client’s brief and enhancing the prized views to Sydney Harbour from multiple vantage points, whilst still paying careful consideration to minimise overshadowing and any view loss from neighbouring properties.
This project is currently awaiting DA approval.
House | Castlecove House
Castlecove, NSW
This elevated multi-level home, in a spectacular steep bushland setting, looks out over the upper reaches of Middle Harbour. The house is placed high on the site, accessed from below by a sinuous suspended concrete drive that leads to an arrival and parking area. Bedrooms are on the mid level and living areas on the top floor, with a dramatic cantilevered balcony thrusting between the tree-tops out into the view.
House | Kia Ora Homestead
Awards
HIA/CSR Australian Home of the Year 2007
HIA/CSR Hunter Home of the Year 2006
HIA/CSR Award for Custom Built Home of the Year 2006
HIA/CSR Award for Most Efficient Use of Water 2006
This architectural proposition arose from the client and architect’s shared interest in the uniquely Australian qualities of the place, not only its relationship to landscape and physical setting, but also its role as the principal residence on a working property. The owner held an invited competition to test approaches by four different Architects. The final design evolved from the conceptual base of our winning scheme.
The site is exposed and dramatic. It commands a series of vistas over the Kia Ora Stud, the Segenhoe Valley and distant mountains. The approach road and arrival sequence are carefully planned to heighten the drama of the site. The full prospect unfolds only after visitors ascend the hill, park, walk along the screened pathway and enter the Homestead. Once inside each room reveals its own special relationship to the setting; either a dramatic vista or intimate outlook to garden or landscape.
Passive environmental features include northern orientation with appropriate roof overhangs, high thermal mass, ample cross ventilation and natural light. Roof water is collected and filtered for potable use. Sewerage is treated on site and absorbed in plant beds.
House | Manly House
Manly, NSW
Awards
Manly Design Award 2003
The long, narrow site runs east-west and is located at the edge of an escarpment, with spectacular views over Manly and the ocean. The building form and cross section were designed to resolve overshadowing, view affectation and permissible floor space ratio.
The long, thin building is planned to maximise outlook from living and circulation areas. The ingenious, compact plan and complex layering creates a surprisingly open and generous house for a family of five. The project had a long, difficult and controversial journey through Council's approval process, so winning the Manly Design Award from the very same Council was particularly gratifying.
Housing | Allen Street
Leichhardt, NSW
The project involved development of three two-bedroom townhouses on a parcel of land sub-divided from the side of the Leichhardt Congregational Church. It was subject to numerous constraints and planning controls including a maximum floor area 85sq.m for each dwelling. The design took advantage of sectional opportunities; creating voids to bring natural light deep into the plan, making dramatic and memorable living spaces while reducing impacts and shadowing to neighbouring properties.