From the architect:
The site is situated within an atypical urban/rural setting. The western front boundary addresses a road connecting neighbouring headland communities with the city centre. To the east, there is a state conservation area bordering a secluded beach. Addressing these opposing conditions was a key consideration in the development of a central covered outdoor living room; the Garden Room. This room provides relief from the vehicular traffic and is oriented to capture filtered views of the ocean and native bushland setting.
The terrain of the site informed both the building setout and planning opportunities. Set on an existing ridge form, the building follows the existing ground, stepping down to create direct internal relationships with the outdoors while providing internal separation through subtle changes in level.
Given the site’s bushland setting, the design had to address bushfire requirements. An informed response minimised the impact of BAL 40 requirements to back of house areas and allowed living spaces to be uncompromised by standard controls.
Key design briefing requirements included: kitchen as the heart of the home, covered outdoor area engaging the landscape, children and adult bedroom separation and a valued entry experience.
Throughout the design process, the importance and impact of the landscape, whether native or constructed, has been an emphasis of the design. Each room is oriented and framed towards a garden to enhance the experience and relationship between indoor and outdoor.
Our belief in an economic hierarchy allows for the right balance between cost and value to be achieved. We believe the primary investment should be made to spaces and items which impact the users on a daily basis. At Brass House, the design revolves around the Garden Room, the value of custom-detailed timber windows and doors, brickwork and in-situ concrete elements soften through native landscaping. For the interiors, built-in joinery is carefully crafted and enhanced through a white neutral pallet to strengthen the landscape experience.
To avoid exhausting the budget, external enclosure details which impact users on a peripheral level were simplified. Using standard products, materials were simply crafted and given a dark monochromatic finish to sit within the native bush context.
