Fraternal Twins, a pair of semi-attached Bondi townhouses that are conjoined at the hip, is the result of a collaboration between a sculptural artist and architect. The two homes are a living embodiment of craftsmanship, minimalist tendencies and coastal nuances, and each have their own distinct sense of character despite their relationship.
After coming across a standalone California Bungalow of a local paper in 2019 a block away from the iconic eastern suburbs beach, artist Cathe Stack made an offer for the property straight away. With a husband in the building industry and an innate interest in architecture, the sculptural artist enlisted the help of an old friend, Carter Williamson Architects’ Director Shaun Carter to assist the couple in harnessing their creative energies.
The former California bungalow is no more, and proceeding it are the two townhouses that have been dubbed Fraternal Twins by Carter.
“The two homes are fraternal, not identical, and have their own uniqueness and character while still sharing the same design aesthetic and boundary,” he says.
While the layouts of each house – comprising four bedrooms and two bathrooms – are the same, the main difference in terms of appearance is in how the twins present themselves to the street. One home’s level one balcony is fringed with a simplified bladed design, while the other is flanked with more rhythmic timber battens. The two front doors are also subtly different in colour.
Moving inside the house, the entryway is awash with natural light due to a high-level clerestory that sits over the stairwell, as well as two private courtyards that sit in the joint and heel of the L-shaped plan with windows that open out to each courtyard. The unique nature of the design afforded both homes three outdoor spaces each, but as Stack tells it, it wasn’t essentially straightforward.
“Most of the homes in that street were not taking advantage of the side of the house which were mainly concrete driveways,” she says.
“We wanted to open the site up to the north to let light in. This meant pushing the houses to the back of the block. We ended up having to go through the Land and Environment Court to get approval. As soon as that was achieved, a whole swag of houses in that street, even ones that already had DAs, have gone back to do what we’ve done. So we started a trend, really.”
Carter Williamson’s Project Lead, Julie Niass, says the vision of Stack delivered a project that was created due to a unique relationship between architect, builder, and client.
“Our client hand-picked the lightly bagged recycled brick for the exterior, which complements the pared-back palette of warm timber, steel hoods, painted white bricks to the interior and polished concrete floors,” she says.
The considered material selection was purposeful in order to further direct natural light through the home. “The flat bar steel design of the stairwell and the glazed Japanese tiles in both bathrooms work to refract the light,” adds Niass.
“The other unique aspect about the houses that I don’t think you always get in a typical development is the generosity of all of the spaces. They're really big, especially the bedrooms with high ceilings, which gives a really lovely amenity to the spaces.”
The high ceilings are met by custom sized windows and doors that sit at full height at 3000mm. This creates a generosity of space and a sense of openness throughout each home. The textural palette is one of organic proportions, with sandstone, recycled brick and a number of native plantations utilised throughout.
Moving through the adversities of COVID lockdowns that halted progress, Stack undertaking her PhD and her husband being diagnosed with cancer, Fraternal Twins was the subject of patience and persistence. What has resulted is a pair of homes distinct in character and similar in philosophy, that sit suitably in a picturesque location.
