A new house in suburban Adelaide on a corner block for a growing family to replace a dilapidated single storey bungalow. Working with an owner with a background in commercial construction the construction system proposed was for a lightweight infilled steel frame pavilion over a concrete basement, with the steel frame expressed externally. This expressed metal frame forms the dominant character of the house, and it crouches like a spider behind the trees and wall.
STUDIO NAME: OOCA
DESIGN TEAM: Henry Keene, Hugo Keene
AREA: 350 m’
LOCATION: Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia
Year: 2014
CONSULTANTS: Contractor — Buildtec
Structural Consultant — TT Enpineerinp
The brief was for a bold new house, with a private garden, to take advantage of the corner block and north orientation.
The brief was achieved by opening all the sides of the house, slipping the volumes apart to maximise natural light to all the internal parts of the house, and providing deep overhangs to protect the more open ground floor level, with sun shading to protect the first floor.
The basic diagram of the house has two offset double storey pitched roof pavilions running east west on the site, with a central lightwell over a protected south facing courtyard and a matching open terrace on the first floor. These punched open elements of the pavilions bring light down into the central spaces of the house, including the basement.
The open plan living kitchen opens out to a spectacular outdoor dining terrace and courtyard garden, with the ground floor open and connected to the landscaped garden surrounding the house on all sides.
The central stair and circulation zone connects the house together, including borrowed light from the courtyard. This zone opens on the first-floor master suite including a private first floor terrace with hanging garden and provides access down into the basement storage and brewing zone.
