Turrbul and Yuggera Peoples
Queensland
Brisbane
A cardinal idea for Floating Gable House was to allow light to instruct the plan. We mapped the available light entering the Site, then intuitively painted the plan with a palette of light, translucency and surface in mind. We also wished to maintain the continuity of memories existing between the family and the new house Site, previously the family lawn tennis court.
Roofs are significant in our Practice work. The presence of the exposed pitched roof within the interiors is integral to the experience at Floating Gable House.
Landscape connects the house to the site. The pre-existing tennis court fencing was retained at the periphery and re-purposed to support a drapery of greenery and seasonal colour.
Floating Gable House continues our interest and applied research into the synergy between the Queenslander and contemporary Japanese house typology, in this instance as it applies to a narrow infill house.
Floating Gable House responds to a unique and intimate brief: to create a new home on the family’s former tennis court, adjacent to their long-held Queenslander. A found site within a site, the project is an exercise in continuity of memory, light, and neighbourhood connection. Rather than severing ties to community or place, the architecture sustains them. Light was the guiding principle, mapped and composed through translucent surfaces and shifting textures.
The vaulted gable roof defines the spatial character, referencing both Queenslander tradition and Asian longhouse typologies to evoke communal living. A bespoke garden studio, designed for the resident artist, offers a peaceful, light-filled workspace. The reinterpreted tennis court fence becomes a green veil, offering privacy while gently recalling the family’s past. It marks the threshold between old and new, and between the home they lived in for decades and the one they now cherish.
Floating Gable House is a poetic, grounded response to light, memory, and place.
We love living in this house. We had many years in the twin gable Queenslander next-door but the contemporary single gable house on our old tennis court wins on design and livability. We feel more connected to the garden and natural light. The new house maintains a visual connection to our store of family memories. As a client, you know what you want but can’t always articulate it. Phorm are so skilled at distilling these unspoken intentions. We feel so lucky to have not just a house, but a creative space looking up at the sky and into the garden.
Paul Hotston, Project Architect
Nicola White, Graduate of Architecture
Monique Pousson, Design Architect
Cornerstone Building Certification, Certifier
Westera Partners, Structural Engineer
Steven Clegg Design, Landscape Consultant
Caribou, Lighting Consultant
Architectural Windows & Doors Pty Ltd, Windows and Doors Supplier
Sunshine State Cabinets, Cabinetry Manufacturer
The Australian Institute of Architects acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
