* Residential Architecture: Connemara House by Peter Legge Associates

Residential Architecture: Connemara House by Peter Legge Associates: “..Connemara. A typical long narrow seashore to road plot; undulating rock  strewn stone walled irregular enclosures, enjoying a Southerly aspect seaward with fine vistas all around; the Twelve Pins mountain range dominating the skyline northward..Clients a retired professional couple with an existing holiday home adjoining the site acquired in the seventies. Pressure of children and grandchildren’s usage suggested the possibility of amalgamating and developing two existing derelict cottages to create a separate retreat, accommodating living, kitchen, dining and relaxing spaces plus three bedrooms en suite..The two cottages though close (a mere three metres apart) were not directly in line nor at the same level but were parallel. A basic decision in the redevelopment process was that they should continue to read as separate elements in the landscape. To allow the cottages read as two separate buildings, a transparent link was required, one totally glazed.  This link would become the entry and circulation hub for the house connecting the cottages at both levels..In the larger western cottage, access to the kitchen/dining area would be via the partially double height living room space, accessed from the glazed entrance and circulation link. Above, the library adjacent to the void leads to a large bedroom en suite..The smaller eastern cottage would accommodate the master bedroom and en suite.  A large store opposite the bathroom would house the main internal elements of the hot water and under floor heating system..The project explores the relationships between a comfortable interior and the dramatic rugged landscape..The cottages’ existing condition meant conventional restoration was neither practical nor feasible, the reconstruction entailed the careful removal and stockpiling of the stonework with the large existing quoins reserved for the gable corners, emphasising their unique quality. A heavily insulated stepped raft foundation would provide a base for this reconstruction..Apart from the glazing and RC wall to support the cantilevered steps in the link, the balance of the construction is of conventional blockwork with the cavity increased to accommodate insulation levels in excess of current regulations. The 300mm deep dry stone rainscreen is laid against the outer face of the blockwork. To emphasise the traditional simplicity of form, gutters and down pipes are concealed within the slate roof and stonework..The large glazing elements are secured by SS channel units, concealed in the dry stonework and secured to the building structure. The transparency of the link is facilitated by the individually cantilevered concrete stair threads leading up to the first floor and the glazed balustrade to the stairs and landing..The other element of modernity contrasting with the age-old tradition of the dry stonework is the again glazed lean-to extension of the south facing dining area. A slide/fold arrangement of four doors allows for a full width opening, thus dining and relaxing can move smoothly from kitchen to dining to terrace, all the time enjoying the southern aspect and views across the strand and islands to the broad Atlantic horizon. As with the above elements, the windows are fully glazed externally, framing views northwards to the Twelve Pins and southwards to the seashore..Inside, the interplay of colours and textures reference the varied landscape; the strand, the sea, the sky and distant mountains. The local stonework is an almost unique geological combination of granite and the darker pre-Cambrian Connemara migmatites. Polished concrete relates to the power washed external terrace and steps. Quality oak doors and floors to the bedrooms. Contrasting to this, soft furnishings and rugs replicate the natural colour palette of the surroundings. Locally crafted joinery add to the richness of materials to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere..An air source heat pump provides both domestic hot water and under floor heating requirements. This works even with the outside temperatures below zero..A combination of the contemporary and traditional, perhaps a more acceptable approach to rural development..”  Lovely site; wonderful restoration / renovation / extension; extensive glazing, natural light, views; interesting conception, interior volumes and materiality..

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image: © Sean Breithaupt + Yvette Monohan; article: Cifuentes , Fabian . “Connemara / Peter Legge Associates” 15 Oct 2012. ArchDaily.<http://www.archdaily.com/280660&gt;

* Residential Architecture: Robins Way House by Bates Masi Architects

Residential Architecture: Robins Way House by Bates Masi Architects: “..The clients, an interior designer and a DJ, requested a complete renovation and addition of a 1960’s kit house in Amagansett, NY, USA, to be a weekend retreat from their urban apartment. The clients gathered images of objects and conventional materials utilized in new, interesting ways as inspiration for the design. A single design solution that could unify the old remaining parts of the house to the new intervention was sought. This solution should solve acoustical, lighting, equipment coordination and simultaneously address the aesthetic décor requirements of the client’s collection of objects. A vocabulary was developed that allowed the patina and history that the client favored to remain and new experiences to evolve..The house was gutted and reduced down to the skeletal framework allowing the intervention to utilize the post and beam construction that remained. Between the existing ceiling joists, natural rope was woven through a digitally fabricated framework. Weaving patterns were used to signify different ceiling conditions. Lighting penetrates through a crossed weave of the rope. It transitions to a straight weave to shield speakers and utilities from view. Since the client is a DJ, sound is very important. The rope weave acts as an acoustic baffle absorbing background noise, but allows music from the ceiling mounted speakers to be emitted..To integrate with the décor, the rope was used structurally to support several items such as a large, custom steel framed mirror in the Master Bathroom and the Dining Room Chandelier. A large sliding door is woven with the same rope to provide privacy from the neighbors and shield the sun at various times of the day. The sunlight rakes through the openings casting linear shadows on the bathroom floor..Unifying the exterior is a dark stained cedar siding that wraps all of the exterior facades and transitions to the matching frames of the replaced windows and doors. The newly constructed interior walls and interior cabinetry were also resurfaced in reclaimed barn wood. Behind a sheet of glass, the same reclaimed wood lines the shower surround and one feels as though they are showering outdoors. The clients now have a quiet escape from city life..The frequent turnover within a vacation community can be wasteful. Some are eager to tear down what exists and start new. This project preserved the skeleton of the house and the history in the patinaed materials that the client desired. Conventional materials were utilized in new ways to unify the old and the new..”  Extensive glazing, natural light; interesting materiality and interior volumes and details..

See our posts on five other homes by Bates Masi Architects:

• Residential Architecture: Pryor House by Bates Masi + Architects
• Residential Architecture: Noyack Creek House by Bates Masi Architects
• Residential Architecture: Quail Hill House by Bates Masi Architects
• Residential Architecture: Lion’s Head by Bates Masi Architects
• Residential Architecture: Genius Loci, Montauk by Bates Masi + Architects

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image: Courtesy of Bates Masi Architects; article: Alarcon , Jonathan . “Robins Way / Bates Masi Architects” 13 Sep 2012. ArchDaily. <http://www.archdaily.com/272230&gt;

* Residential Architecture: Bondi House by Carter Williamson Architects

Residential Architecture: Bondi House by Carter Williamson Architects: “..Huddled on a suburban street lined with semis and medium rise apartments, only the tanned surfers strolling by in thongs and bathers suggest that this Bondi home is only a short stroll from Australia’s most famous stretch of sand..The existing semi, hemmed in by its neighbours, was a dark, warren of rooms which turned their back on a small, love-less, rear courtyard. Noticeably absent from the home was the bleached, white sunlight synonymous with Australian seascapes. The brief was to re-imagine this suburban semi as a contemporary beach house, capturing not only the physical elements of a beach landscape; the colours, materials and textures, but also the ephemeral; the quality of light, and the relaxed holiday atmosphere..Clearing away the poky rooms at the rear allowed us to work within the existing building footprint, preserving the amenity of the rear courtyard. It also gave us a liberated ground plane, a platform, where we experimented with programmatic configurations of space that took on the form of two pavilions. The new pavilion piggybacks the existing home, efficiently stacking living and sleeping spaces upon each other. Where it touches the ground the building is light and porous, the walls dissolving to embrace the courtyard. In contrast, the sleeping areas above are more solid and restful. Light entering the space is controlled through a band of timber windows and sliding shutters..The spatially efficient square form of the addition makes the most of the tight block but generated deep plan which we liberated by cleaving the building in two. Set into the schism is a ribbon of glazing which swallows light into the centre of the home, pushing the upstairs bedrooms apart and programmatically defining the open plan spaces of the ground floor. The vivid, blue glass lining the void echoes the colours of the sea and captures glimpses of the fleeting sky above and the terracotta rooftops leading down to the beach..A second, smaller pavilion was designed as a flexible studio space for our creative client. The studio assumes the footprint of the existing garden shed and climbs up toward the house. With the glazed sliding doors to the living area and the studio pulled right open, the spaces are united with the courtyard, creating a dialogue between the two pavilions..In keeping with the relaxed atmosphere of the home, the material palette was selected to be low maintenance. The tiled exterior walls can easily be hosed down when salt gathers from the sea breeze. The texture and variation in these handmade glass mosaics catch shimmering light, like the surface of water. Timbers, oiled and raw, alongside galvanised steel and glass complete the simple, pared back palette. Stepping through the front gate, this Bondi home now feels distant from its neighbours. It feels beachy, like a holiday; light, breezy and easy to look after..”  Extensive glazing, skylights and natural light for this renovation and extension to an existing home; interesting form, interior volumes, details..

See our post on another home by Carter Williamson Architects: Residential Architecture: Balmain House by Carter Williamson Architects.

image: Courtesy of Carter Williamson Architects; article: Arthitectural

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* Residential Architecture: Nicholson Residence by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design

Residential Architecture: Nicholson Residence by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design: “Australian architect Matt Gibson designed the Nicholson Residence in Melbourne, Australia…This renovation involved the renovation of a Federation single fronted terrace (house) within a heritage overlay including the provision of a series of first floor level spaces that cantilever deep into a previously treed rear of the site. The rear addition presents as a long, tall timber-clad tube wrapped around the remaining existing boundary walls and cleared out GFL interior..The newer works provide a more generous engagement with the exterior and garden foliage via extensive use of glass and continuity of material externally. A whimsical and artistic ‘giving back’ to the parkland legacy is provided at first floor level in the form of a steel sheet external graphic ‘appliqué’ and internal decal..This provides texture and interest for both interior and exterior whilst enabling a functional Planning outcome preventing overlooking to neighbours. The colour and material palette is deliberately restrained so as not to compete with the exterior, or with the family’s accumulated artwork and furnishings..”   Extensive glazing, natural light, skylights, black window framing; interesting materiality and interior volumes; indoor / outdoor sensibility..

See our posts on two other homes by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design:

• Residential Architecture: Shakin Stevens House by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design
• Residential Architecture: Kooyong Residence by Matt Gibson Architecture

image + article: Contemporist

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