Comprising two separate volumes that look stitched together from the street, Tandem House, created by Fiona Drago Architect, aims to downsize for an evolving family within a central location.
Separated by a courtyard, the two masses which make up the house are awash with natural light due to the placement of the open space. Possessing the flexibility to allow family members to either socialise or retire to their own quarters, the house features a spacious living zone, a number of bedrooms and a home office.
The brief was straightforward, and asked simply for a functional, modern home, but with a number of specific requests, including a cellar for 1,000 wine bottles, a home office, a spare bedroom for interstate relatives, and a roof deck to view the city skyline. The location of the home and subsequent amenities on offer were the major reasons for the family’s relocation, and thus wanted to spend less time tending to the house and more time taking advantage of what is on offer within the neighbourhood.
Acknowledging the form and language of the streetscape, the home appears as a single storey home from street view. The visible roof form aligns with the other pitched roofs in the streetscape. The exterior material palette also reflects the landscape, with the grey colours of the zinc and masonry reflecting the homes and adjacent laneway.
The interior palette is influenced largely by a light colour selection, which increases the sense of volume within each room. Most of the habitable rooms have views out to vegetation, heightening connections to nature. The north-facing living area connects seamlessly through large sliding doors to the compact rear garden. The services rooms (bath, laundry, kitchen) and the stairwell, functions that require less natural light, form a spine along the party wall. They are stacked on top of each other to provide greater efficiency in the services reticulation.
The client was heavily involved within the design processes, commissioning the furniture, ceramic tiles and landscape design from local practitioners, who worked in conjunction with Fiona Drago to seamlessly bring the project to life.
Working within the confines of a small inner-city site, Fiona Drago Architect has created a family home that accounts for the needs of parents and young adults. Using its central site to the advantage of the clients, the practice has wisely acknowledged the surrounding streetscape within the textural palette of the home’s exterior, while providing a place where modern living is designed to thrive.
