From the architect:
The tale of the two townhouses CONSTANTINE and EFTIHIA is one of love, family and the pursuit of the Australian dream.
Their house in the suburb of Blackburn in Melbourne’s east, was a place of warmth and home grown vegetables and became the centre of extended family activities and cherished memories. Now their legacy lives on through two beautiful townhouses, a testament to the enduring impact of family ties and the power of architecture to honour the past.
The two townhouses have been built for my mother who downsized from a large family home and are named after her parents on the property that Constantine and Eftihia bought in 1963 and where they lived out their lives. By way of a public tribute to my loving grandparents, their names are debossed into the rendered facades.
These townhouses were conceived to represent the couple, the two sides of one coin, the yin and the yang, male and female, light and shade. The white townhouse (EFTIHIA) with its sweeping horizontal forms is embracing like the kindly, feminine energy of a grandmother’s swaddling arms. In contrast the black townhouse (CONSTANTINE) with its vertically curved shapes is emblematic of buttresses against the vicissitudes of a life that finally found its sanctuary, and started a family, in Australia.
Situated on a rectangular, corner property with a north-facing frontage, the two townhouses are carefully crafted to maximise space and light. Passive solar design principles are seamlessly integrated into the layouts, with shaded north facing living spaces that control solar gain in summer and ensure thermal optimisation. Carefully arranged within the expressive forms are the two 3-bedroom townhouses – EFTIHIA has been specifically designed for my mother.
The internal living spaces of both are double height void volumes that fully open to connect to the outside with high level louvered windows that allow natural currents of air and ventilation in the summer months and create a sense of free-flowing light, air and space to strengthen the connection to the external spaces. The sweeps and curves of the architecture create deep shading structures on both dwellings ensuring solar control. EFTIHIA’s steel brise soleil structure to her north façade generates a beautiful parade of everchanging dappled light into the living spaces throughout the year.
The regulatory street frontage setback required for EFTIHIA has been capitalised to create a lush garden and private terrace. CONSTANTINE boasts a sun drenched north facing deck and an upper floor terrace that engages with the café precinct opposite through the veil of the street trees.
Each of the townhouse reflects a commitment to honour the past and celebrates the resilience and contributions of simple people - my grandparents, who were peasants and refugees, seeking a better life for themselves and their family.
