Hasta La Ideas

Australian architecture office Iredale Pedersen Hook has renovated a 1930s property in Perth and added an angular rear extension that contrasts with the traditional street-facing facade (+ slideshow).

Architects Adrian Iredale and Caroline Di Costa of Iredale Pedersen Hook own the house and have been gradually conducting renovations over the past four years to adapt it to the changing needs of their young family.

Mindful of preserving the property’s historic aesthetic while updating its functionality, the architects retained the front facade and based the faceted shape of the extension on the multiple sloping surfaces of the original roof.

“Folding forms developed from the existing roof achieve a reinterpretation of the surrounding streetscape and roofscape, binding old and new [as well as] historic and contemporary,” said the architects. “A Jekyll and Hyde quality, the street appearance remains almost untouched; a silent figure, a backdrop, the rear is the extrovert, complex and challenging.”

When viewed from the adjacent street, the house appears to retain the appearance of the Queen Anne Federation-style properties typical in the city’s Vincent district, which feature details reminiscent of the Baroque style of architecture that gained popularity in England during the early eighteenth century.

A key feature of this style is a sheltered verandah next to the entrance, which was popular with the Italian and Greek immigrants who moved to the neighbourhood following the First World War. The architects reintroduced this element to the building to enhance the connection between the house, the garden and the street.

The faceted extension extends upwards and outwards from the existing sloping roof at the rear of the property, which prevents it from being seen from the street.

Folding doors on the ground floor can be pulled back to connect the dining room and kitchen with a terrace that projects into the garden.

Above the terrace, the upper storey leans forward to shield the interior from the low summer sun and to make the most of views across the surrounding rooftops.

The facade of the extension is covered with fabric panels, which allow light to permeate and display shadows from the branches of nearby trees. Some of the panels at eye level can be opened to provide views of the horizon.

A cooling system that drips water down the fabric panels to chill hot air before it reaches the interior was based on the principle of the Coolgardie Safe – a traditional refrigeration technique employed by Western Australian miners to cool food.

The angular interior of the study and living room on the upper floor is entirely clad in plywood panels. The sloping back wall replaces the tiles of the original roof and provides a surface that Iredale and Di Costa’s two-year-old daughter uses as a slide.

As well as the roofline, the architects retained features including the chimney, which has been converted into a water collector, and a 1950s sliding door with an amber glass panel at the top of the stairs.

A multipurpose pavilion constructed in the garden features a pyramidal polycarbonate roof, culminating in a transparent panel that allows daylight to reach the interior and provides views of the sky.

Photography is by Peter Bennetts.

Here’s a project description from Iredale Pedersen Hook:

CASA31_4 Room House

Conceptual Framework

CASA31_4 Room House re-interprets the role of memory, tradition and social and cultural value in a rich spatial experience that is simultaneous familiar yet unfamiliar. Our architecture preserves and reinterprets the past. History is layered but never erased. Fragments of the past continually remind us that we are only another layer in the rich and unfolding history of this place.

All spaces contain elements of the past, often manifest as objects of intrigue, the sloping floor (the former roof), the barge scrolls on the front fence, the roof tiles creating a musical score along the boundary, the chimney as water collector and the up-cycling of former building elements as decks, gates, architraves and furniture.

A front deck engages with the street, re-introducing the role and value of the front garden as social setting and meeting place, a past tradition by the immigrant Italians and Greeks that has almost disappeared in societies obsession with privacy and security.

Over the last 3 years we have explored our 1936 Queen Anne Mount Hawthorn Federation house scraping, layering, and peeling with 4 primary spatial ideas; the room to the interior, the room to the garden, the room to the horizon, the room to the sky.

The room to the interior explores what existed, years of layering, the art of construction, knowing what to keep, what to reveal and what to remove, knowledge gained from 13 years indulging in the past. Rooms become the embodiment of a city, a microcosm of the qualities that make a great city. The room to the garden focuses attention to the exterior at ground level, it is purposely heavy and grounded engaging with the earth, the section expands to the exterior, a series of folding screens layer the engagement.

A space of deep sensory delight, an architectural palette cleanser, transitions the ground and upper level, the eyes and nose are overpowered by the burnt and waxed plywood walls and the amber light cast by Nan’s 1950’s sliding door.

The room to the horizon filters the suburban roof tops, the screen abstracts the exterior world, the interior is one folded space formed through a play on the one point perspective that intensifies the horizon. Openable screens create a direct view framing the horizon, releasing the interior volume. The space is cooled with an interpretation of the old Coolgardie safe, water is dripped down the fabric cooling the outside air. The newly restored, 1956 Iwan Iwanoff Guthrie residence cabinet finds a new home after 15 years of storage in numerous architect’s garages. The roughly painted ‘I love Linda’ remains on the chimney, a rear window frames the distant Saint Mary’s Church.

The room to the sky creates a vertical spatial experience, a halo of love poems embraces us (former wedding installation) and at night a cross of light abstracted by polycarbonate awakens but unlike St Mary’s Church our little spire opens up to the heavens.

Contribution to lives of inhabitants

After 4 years of renovating it is now time to enjoy the richness and intensity of experience that this renovation has created. Every day is a different experience, one that is tender, unexpected, personal and embedded with history. The design enables our children and us to grow and evolve in a sequence of spaces that encourage engagement with each other and the dwelling and offers new ways of understanding and exploring family relationships and an understanding of space. Our house is simultaneous a memorial, playground, place of celebration, stage set, place of community interaction and most importantly ‘home’.

Program Resolution

The design exploits all areas of the site with an inherent flexibility for not only day to day use but the long term capacity to adapt to evolving and changing requirements as the family grows and ages.

It re-engages with the street and community allowing our children to play in safe environment connected to the street and house. Spaces are specific and flexible, while offering sufficient capacity for personal interpretation and use.

Sustainable Architecture Category

This project includes both a macro and micro approach to sustainability. It also extends the meaning of sustainability beyond environmental to include contextual, social, cultural and economic concerns.

This house will be a case example for the City of Vincent demonstrating the importance of preserving the 1935 Queen Anne Federation home with the capacity to embrace contemporary expectations of living, without comprising the street context or privacy of adjoining properties. The neighbouring house completes the street sequence of ‘twins’ and twins should never be separated.

The removal of material from site is minimised, an attitude of ‘upgrading’ ensures that materials once concealed for structural purposes are now used for furniture, decks, doorframes and architraves.

The upper and lower level spaces are protected from the low, intense summer sun with timber framed fixed and operable screens, the upper level is cooled with a manually operated reticulation system that drip feeds water on to the fabric, hot moving air is rapidly chilled, this is Perth’s largest ‘Coolgardie Safe’, a 19th century low-tech refrigeration system used by the Coolgardie WA gold miners to cool edible goods. Windows are strategically located to maximise cross ventilation or for winter heat gain (north facing highlight window with a deep reveal for shading).

All interior spaces preserve elements of the past, history is layered but never erased. Low energy light fittings, recycled light fittings, low water use and storage, pv cells and solar hot water systems all form part of the sustainable equation but is the focus.

Economy is achieved through re-cycling, restoring, re-interpreting building materials and historic traditions and minimising waste. This project represents a holistic approach to design and dwelling, where memories are preserved, carbon footprint minimised and the concerns of the broader community celebrated.

Context

Folding forms developed from the existing roof achieve a re-interpretation of the surrounding streetscape and roof-scape, binding old and new/ historic and contemporary. A Jekyll and Hyde quality, the street appearance remains almost untouched, a silent figure, a backdrop, the rear is the extrovert, complex and challenging.

A front deck engages with the street, re-introducing the value of the front garden as social setting, a past tradition by the immigrant Italians and Greeks. A mosaic tiled seat offers a place to rest for neighbours. All exterior spaces contain elements of the past, often manifest as objects of intrigue.

Integration of Allied Disciplines

As architect owners we were keen to maintain an open line of discussion that enabled details to be developed and refined as the project evolved. This often involved the capacity to re-use building waste. Our structural engineer and builder eagerly entered in to this arrangement in particular the role of the builder extended beyond the traditional role.

Architects: Caroline Di Costa Architect and iredale pedersen hook architects
Architectural Project Team: Caroline Di Costa, Adrian Iredale, Finn Pedersen, Martyn Hook, Brett Mitchell, Sinan Pirie, Matthew Fletcher.
Structural Engineer: Terpkos Engineering
Builder: Hugo Homes
Completion: December 2013

The post Iredale Pedersen Hook updates a traditional
Perth house with a faceted extension appeared first on Dezeen.

Concrete block walls with window-like apertures surround a courtyard at the front of this Melbourne house by local practice MRTN Architects, which also features an angular wooden roof (+slideshow).

MRTN Architects designed the family home, named Fairfield Hacienda, so that it would engage with neighbouring properties on its suburban street. The designers convinced the clients to downscale the building’s planned footprint by a third, making room for a courtyard that acts as an uncovered outdoor living room.

“The enclosed courtyard is located to the north of the house and creates a buffer between the street and the house, allowing the living spaces to open up to and access northern light and warmth,” the architects explained.

A path that meanders through a small garden leads from the street to the courtyard, which is level with the fronts of the adjacent houses.

The walls shelter the courtyard from the wind but contain holes that allow the residents to see their neighbours and people passing on the street.

A tree at the centre of this outdoor space provides some shade from the sun, while vines and other plants will eventually cover the concrete walls, giving it the appearance of a secret garden.

Concrete blocks enclosing the courtyard continue along the front of the house and also appear internally, where they are polished to a smooth finish.

The material is used for the front half of the house and was chosen for its high thermal mass, which reduces the need for artificial heating and cooling.

Glazed panels create a gap between the solid walls and the angular projecting roof, which is covered on the underside with red cedar.

The faceted ceiling appears to hover above the main living room and kitchen and dining space, where it complements an angular stone-clad breakfast bar.

A small courtyard at the centre of the home separates two wings occupied by the parents and children. Plants inside the glazed structure will gradually grow and increase the privacy of these areas.

The rear half of the property containing the bedrooms and bathrooms is constructed from a timber frame and clad in plywood panels.

Photography is by Peter Bennetts.

Here’s a project description from MRTN Architects:

Fairfield Hacienda

On the fringe of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, this new family home sits in an established residential street of Victorian villas and Californian bungalows. From the footpath, the Fairfield Hacienda with its angled roof fits into the landscape of single level homes, effortlessly picking up the street’s original pattern of hipped and gabled roof forms.

A closer look however, reveals that this new house sits behind a sunny, walled courtyard. This room without a roof, except for a sheltering courtyard tree, is an extension of the living and dining spaces that open onto it. The enclosed courtyard is located to the north of the house and creates a buffer between the street and the house allowing the living spaces to open up to and access northern light and warmth.

The front wall of the courtyard matches the front setback of the adjacent neighbours. In holding the typical front setback of houses along the street, and setting the house to the south, a sun filled outdoor area is created that can be used as a living, dining or play area.

The courtyard space also becomes a semi-public space allowing interaction between the owners and local passerby’s; responding to the owners desire that the house engage with the established residents in the area.

The concrete block walls of the courtyard continue without interruption through the house’s main living areas. These walls remain unchanged except for the patina. Outside they are rough and weathered, but become polished and honed once inside. The design is not precious of the courtyard walls, eventually vines and creepers will take over the exterior concrete block and create a walled garden that will change by season.

The living spaces are covered with an undulating canopy of cedar, a warm blanket of timber. From the exterior the roof form relates to the neighbouring roof geometries along the street but from inside the roof dips and rises to define the dining, kitchen and living spaces below. The timber ceiling is kept clear of down lights and services, all lighting is provided by concealed perimeter uplighting, at night the roof appears to float over the masonry walls below.

Beyond the living spaces the private zones of the house are arranged as two wings, a parents wing and a children’s wing, that wrap around a small courtyard. This central planted courtyard provides light and ventilation to the centre of the house. Currently parents and young children can see each other through this void but over time planting will create greater privacy for older children.

The owners’ brief was to create a long-term family home, somewhere they could become a part of the street and its ongoing history. The Fairfield Hacienda sits comfortably within its local context while creating a contemporary light filled home that is orientated to the north and provides a variety of spaces to live in, both inside and out.

The post Family courtyard fronts Fairfield Hacienda
house by MRTN Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Three mature trees were rooted to the centre of this site in Western Australia, but architecture firm MORQ managed to convince the owners to build their family house around the peeling trunks and burgeoning foliage (+ slideshow).

Located south of Perth in the town of Margaret River, Karri Loop House was constructed around one large Karri tree and a pair of Marri trees – both of which are indigenous to this region of Australia – after MORQ came up with a design that prevented them needing to be chopped down.

The single-storey residence has an H-shaped plan that wraps around the trunks of the three trees and also frames a pair of irregularly shaped courtyards.

To avoid disturbing the delicate shallow roots, the architects raised the house off the ground by positioning it on hand-placed steel tripod footings, rather than digging pile foundations.

Dramatic double-height ceilings and large windows were then added to the living room and master bedroom to “celebrate the presence of the trees” by offering residents views of the leaves and branches overhead.

“These trees, their root systems and their unstable large branches presented a challenge to the build-ability of the house,” said the architects.

“We like to think of this project as a mutually beneficial development; the building is designed to retain the trees, while the trees visually contribute to the quality of the inner space,” they added.

A raised deck runs along the northern side of the house to create an outdoor seating area beneath the canopy of the Karri, while a sheltered triangular terrace at the end of the living room features a vertical window framing another view of the tree.

A rainwater harvesting system is built into the roof, which channels water through to an irrigation system feeding the tree roots.

Plywood clads the inner and outer walls of the house. On the outside, it has a roughly sawn surface coated with a layer of black paint, while interior surfaces have been sanded smooth to reveal the natural grain.

Wooden ceiling beams were left exposed in various rooms inside the building. Straw bales were also added to provide insulation, but are concealed within the walls.

Photography is by Peter Bennetts.

Here’s some more information from MORQ:

Karri Loop House

The mature trees located in the middle of the site (a Karri and two Marris) played an essential part in shaping our project. The first part of the design process was spent in investigating the requirements for retaining these trees, as well as convincing the clients of their unique presence on an otherwise anonymous site. With the support of a renowned arborist, the decision was finally made to keep the trees. As a result, the house sits in between the tree-trunks and its outline defines two open courtyards of irregular shape. These embrace the trees and the surrounding landscape, around which family life occurs.

A tall window in the dining area and a periscope-like skillion in the master bedroom, celebrate the presence of the trees from within the house, framing views of both foliage and peeling trunks. These trees, their root systems and their unstable large branches presented a challenge to the build-ability of the house. We like to think of this project as a mutually beneficial development: where the building is designed to retain the trees, while the trees visually contribute to the quality of the inner space.

To protect the integrity of the shallow root-system a matrix of steel tripod footings was used: each of them had to be dug by hand, and repositioned every time a root was encountered, resulting in an irregular structural grid. These footings also raise the house off the ground and give it a somewhat temporary look.

Any part of the house footprint overlapping the root system would result in an uneven rainwater supply to the roots, which could cause a shock to the trees. Rainwater collected on the roof is therefore taken under the house, channelled into a trickling irrigation pipes and then evenly fed to the tree roots.

Lightweight construction seemed the most appropriate response to the existing trees requirements, however straw-bales were chosen as a preferred form of insulation. This decision required all perimeter walls to be prefabricated as ladder-frames and later assembled on site. It also resulted in unusually thick perimeter walls, seldom employed in timber framed buildings.

The house was mainly constructed out of timber, whose grain and texture inform both interior and exterior spaces. Wall linings use different grades of plywood: rough sawn, painted black on the outside, and sanded, clear-treated on the inside. The floor and ceilings are also in clear-treated plywood. The roof structure is resolved with Laminated Veneer Lumber beams, which are left exposed on the inside of the ceiling.

Project typology: new house
Site: Margaret River, Western Australia
Floor area: 290 sqm
Year: 2013
Number of inhabitants: 2 adults + 3 children

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three indigenous Australian trees appeared first on Dezeen.

This black and blue sports centre in Western Australia was designed by ARM Architecture as a pixellated cluster of chunky cubes (+ slideshow).

Located beyond the Australian outback in the remote town of Port Hedland, the stadium is named Wanangkura, which translates as “whirlwind” in the aboriginal Kariyarra language. ARM Architecture‘s Sophie Cleland compares the building to the cyclones that occur intermittently in the region and says that it creates a “shimmering, rippling effect on an otherwise flat landscape”.

The building occupies one slice of an elliptical site on the edge of the town and contains a 400-seat games court, two squash courts, a gym and a series of changing rooms and event spaces. The rest of the site is taken up by three new outdoor courts for netball and basketball, plus the existing Kevin Scott cricket oval.

The brightly coloured cubes surround the curved outer facade. An arched opening leads through the outer wall and towards the entrance, where the cubes change colour from blue to orange, while inside the building a grid of squares also decorates the walls of the stadium.

Strips of lighting are attached to the external walls to allow the building to glow after dark.

Other unusual sports centres on Dezeen include a climbing centre with a windowless yellow facade and an indoor football ground in a converted warehouse. See more sports centres.

Photography is by Peter Bennetts.

Here’s some more information from ARM Architecture:

Wanangkura Stadium is Port Hedland’s new multi‐purpose recreational centre. The name for the centre was chosen from hundreds of local submissions and means ‘whirlwind’ in the local Kariyarra language. The title pays tribute to the centre’s design, which architect Sophie Cleland likened to a cyclonic pattern, creating a ‘shimmering, rippling effect on an otherwise flat landscape’. Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett called the Centre ‘… a spectacular piece of architecture that will become a landmark for Hedland’.

Located in Western Australia’s northern Pilbara region, Port Hedland is highest tonnage port in Australia, with global links to China, Europe and Japan. It is also a place of extreme climatic conditions with seasonal cyclonic periods and extreme temperatures during summer. Managing these conditions becomes a challenge for architecture, with buildings designed to withstand cyclonic conditions to Region D category 2. The mining industry also dominates the landscaping and operations and the town, providing a large fly‐in fly‐out population.

The main gateway into the town is through the air; not roads. The town is located at the top western end of Western Australia and is surrounded by a sea of red earth at the edge of the Pilbara in town infamous for Australia’s iron ore exports. Flying several hours across the desert of the Australia outback you see a town come into view that has a suburban domestic like quality with a urban layout would be familiar in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. The bright green grass of the ovals are clearly the most identifying features. This ‘gateway’ provided the first primary view of the Wanangkura Stadium and the approximately 3500 square meter roof which makes a significant feature in the landscape. We chose to treat the roof as another façade and wanted to celebrate the local club football team The South Hedland Swans whose team colours are black and white by creating giant stripes in the roof profile. This creates an impressive view from above but is also an important feature from the oval as the roof is clearly visible from the ground and oval perimeter.

The project site is located at the Kevin Scott Oval on the fringe of South Hedland’s flood plain. It is a significant destination point for major sports and social gatherings for the local community and fly‐in fly‐out workers. ARM was engaged to design a scheme for the multipurpose sports facility, concurrently with the masterplanning for the surrounding playing fields for future expansion. The main building houses a new indoor playing court, a gym, squash courts, club rooms for local football teams and upper level function rooms. Adjacent to the main building are outdoor playing courts for netball and basketball.

Our approach to the design considered this building as a mirage – a shimmering, rippling effect on an otherwise flat landscape. Using a ‘halftone’ pixelated technique, the buildings entry facade acts as a clear visual image from long distances, whilst being highly agitated on closer inspection. The opposite side faces the Kevin Scott oval, accommodating related facilities along the oval, including a spectator’s stand, change rooms and spectator suites.

In preparing the concept design, ARM first visited the site and met with Council and project stakeholders, which included different sporting groups and community members. The design had to work hard to meet the requirements of each sporting code, while also taking advantage of opportunities for efficiency, such as sharing change rooms. Circulation and access needed to consider the varying requirements of spectators, employees, paying members, and local and visiting sports teams.

The Wanangkura Stadium is an excellent example of the advantage offered by ARM’s unique design approach. Our clients in Port Hedland knew it would be difficult to create an ‘iconic’ building within the restrictions of their location, climate and budget. With lateral thinking and innovation, we proved that something more was possible.

Above: site plan – click for larger image

Above: ground floor plan – click for larger image

Above: first floor plan – click for larger image

Above: roof plan – click for larger image

Above: section east to west – click for larger image

Above: east elevation – click for larger image

Above: north elevation – click for larger image

Above: west elevation – click for larger image

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by ARM Architecture appeared first on Dezeen.

Slideshow: Australian practice March Studio conceived this Melbourne bakery as an oversized breadbasket.

The undulating wooden slats that cover the rear wall and ceiling of the shop function as shelves for storing and displaying breads of different shapes and sizes.

A wooden chopping board spans the length of the bakery to create a countertop with integrated pockets for scales, knives, crumb-catchers and checkouts.

March Studio were also the designers for a series of unusual shops for skincare brand Aesop – see them here.

Photography is by Peter Bennetts.

Here’s the story of the project from March Studio:

Baker D. Chirico

“Just bread”, he said, and passed us a loaf.

“Just bread?”, we said, and thought of containers for bread. Baskets, cooling racks, peels. A basket the size of a shop. A basket that was also a rack. A single gesture.

A Wall Of Bread.

Bread is a simple product, of few ingredients, traditionally displayed and sold simply.
The art of a baker such as D. Chirico is to perfect a simple process and do it like few others. The results are evident in their reputation.

At the Carlton edition of Baker D. Chirico, March Studio have taken inspiration from this example, crafting an interior with a simple purpose: to cool the bread fresh out of the oven, to display it naked of packaging and ready to be portioned and sold.

An undulation of CNC routed plywood forms wall and ceiling. Subtractions from the wall provide display areas for bread; the varying depths of the shelves and heights of the subtractions meticulously arranged to accommodate long baguettes, large round pagnotta, ficelle loaves and other creations. The variety and expanse of the wall gives freedom to arrange and alter the display according to mood or season.

“And I’ll sell it by the kilo”, he said, and showed us a knife.

“By the kilo?”, we said (we didn’t always repeat what he’d said as a question) and thought of chopping boards. A chopping board the size of a counter.

Standing in firm counterpoint to the wave of the bread wall, the central counter is conceived of as a giant chopping board, intended to wear and patina gracefully with age and use. Scales, crumb trays, knife holders and POS terminals each have a place on this working bench, all subsumed into the simple sales concept – chop loaf, wrap and sell.

“And maybe some nougat”, he said. “Nah, just bread”, we said.