Displaying posts from October, 2015

Inner House

Posted on Wed, 28 Oct 2015 by midcenturyjo

Kim and I just can’t say no to a church renovation. Such a tricky thing to pull off though. Often the domestic overwhelms its ecclesiastical shell. Weird rooms, cut off windows, the twee of everyday life competing with the gravity of a former place of worship. A desire to leave the existing building untouched drove the design of the Inner House by Bates Smart.

The Inner House is a single dwelling constructed in the 1926 First Church of Christ Scientist in East Sydney. The House is erected on a platform built over the raking floor with a pair of two storey cubes flanking the volume. These spaces contain sleeping accommodation and ancillary facilities whilst the central space provides living and dining areas. The concept is derived from the formal geometry of the volume, its austerity and the temporary nature of the new structure.”


You can’t judge a book by its cover

Posted on Wed, 28 Oct 2015 by midcenturyjo

A cursory glance at this period property in Armadale, Melbourne might lead you to believe it’s all about tradition and historic features. That concrete driveway to the left should give you a hint that things are not all that they seem. Let’s just say that it may be stiff upper lip at the front of the property but it’s all party house out the back. Old meets new in this extension and renovation by Nicholas Murray Architects. “The property was dilapidated when purchased and involved complete underpinning and restoration of the Gothic Victorian facade and front four rooms. Beyond that everything was demolished to make way for a vehicle basement and two levels above. A large pond was introduced into the core of the building to delineate old from new.”

Riverloft

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2015 by KiM

Exposed brick + massive black framed windows + double height living space + dreamy leather sofa + black SMEG + luxurious bathtub + puppy = LOFT HEAVEN by A+Z Design Studio.

The home of Ross Lovegrove

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2015 by KiM

The 5,000 sq ft Notting Hill, London home and working studio of architect and product designer Ross Lovegrove is for sale via Domus Nova and all I can say is WHOA. I would prefer to call it a museum. This three storey former steel framed factory building, which was originally created by Richard Seifert and later reconfigured and extended by Miska Miller has played host to the creation of some of Ross Lovegrove’s most significant product designs and today remains a design archive of pieces that were created specifically for the property and have never been produced elsewhere. Central to the success of the redevelopment of this late 1950’s commercial building was the addition of the much feted ‘DNA Staircase’. Locating workspaces on the ground floor to allow for direct access from the street, the upper floors were designed to follow the principles of upside down living, with the bedrooms and study areas on the central floor and the entire top of the building given over to one 30m living and dining areas. Elsewhere, integral details such as the kitchen cabinetry, which was created from honeycombed fibreglass aircraft flooring, the carbon fibre sinks in the bathrooms and the huge 2.5m sliding doors on each room will remain in the building as a testament to Miller and Lovegrove and their love of utilitarian design.

Gardening in the round

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2015 by midcenturyjo

A contemporary garden oasis. A small sanctuary for lush outdoor living by landscape architect and horticulturist Ben Scott.