ABOUT
Replacing a dilapidated weatherboard home on a 160 square meter block, Small House provides a modest, yet comfortable home for our client to enjoy. The brief was to achieve a modern home with sustainability at its core. There’s no better way than to build small and maximise the use of land in a convenient location.
DETAILS
STATUS
Completed 2023
LOCATION
Brunswick, VIC
SERVICES PROVIDED
Planning, Architecture & Interior Design
PHOTOGRAPHY
DESIGN
Situated on a narrow site, the design had some critical constraints, requiring clever design and roof forms to be able to maximise the space while having minimal impact on neighbours. Unique roof forms are sculpted from the requirements to provide daylight to neighbouring windows, resulting in a central void space with a feature curved ceiling.
Located in Brunswick, the architecture responds to the industrial history of the neighbourhood. Showcasing recycled bricks on the floor and walls, paired with crisp white metal cladding. The material selection for both interior and exterior is a considered palette of natural and rustic materials featuring tactile qualities of birch plywood, polished concrete, and Brick flooring. The interior spaces although modest, benefit from raked cathedral style ceilings and void spaces to enhance them by creating larger volumes. When walking through the home the spaces compress and expand, tricking you into thinking the home is larger than it really is.
Sustainable initiatives have been incorporated into the home, using Solar PV panels and hot water, along with a battery system. Having to deal with an east west orientation, it was important to bring in as much natural light as possible. Skylights have been provided in spaces where natural light couldn’t be achieved. Concrete and recycled brick flooring was used to create thermal mass to maintain a consistent and comfortable temperature. One of the best ways to design a sustainable home is through minimizing its size.
Small house is designed on necessity, not opulence.
This small but intricate project has been challenging us in so many ways and we are loving it. Very grateful to be working with the experienced and quality team.
HAVEN CONSTRUCTIONS
Small House, Brunswick
