Gadigal people of the Eora Nation
NSW
A home that may intimately house one, and at other times a family of five.
House in Erskineville critiques the typical terrace housing typology and welcomes radical planning to create a home which consists of a series of connected and flexible spaces that can be inhabited in multiple ways.
Velvet curtains and sliding panels close off ‘rooms’ from others when privacy is needed. At all other times, the home is essentially a single room with a singular central axis providing circulation down the middle and occupied spaces at the edges.
Balancing the retention of an existing 1880s Victorian terrace, the design explores experimental material insertions with a double height triple layer, insulated polycarbonate volume overlooking the garden.
The design of the home challenges living conventions, fosters family relationships, and decidedly opts against segregated rooms.
As a queer, trans man who is also a parent, it has become my habit to critically examine everyday structures that society upholds as ‘normal.’ In community, we unpack ideas of gender, what constitutes a family, and traditional frameworks for ways of being to re-imagine a life that fits us well.
Architect George elegantly transcribed this formula for life into the design of our home. They understood that my family did not need a conventional house with a room for everything. We need rooms that can be many things.
Their magnificent design has become the perfect container for our lives.
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.
