Land of the Turrbal and Jaggera
Queensland
Brisbane
The studio is located at the bottom of a 4 storey pole house in the inner Brisbane suburb of Indooroopilly. Built in 1999 using hardwood reclaimed from Howard Smith Wharves, the house has an incredible superstructure of massive hardwood posts on concrete piers.
The owners wanted to create a multi-purpose studio to provide a calm space to work from home, receive guests who stay over, and a future single occupancy space for family.
This 45sqm space was designed to reveal the existing structure and provide a natural and earthy material palette that belongs in the shadows of the large fig tree. The wall of the house facing the gully becomes a deep door and window system, embracing and celebrating the posts. These deep reveals contain shelves and display for the geologist owner and allow an edge that can be opened to the fig tree.
We desired a space that could function as an office, guest accommodation and a self-contained apartment, with a strong connection to the outdoors. The resulting design feels separate from the main residence in all of the practical ways that working and resting require, yet connected to the elements that make this site special. It is beautiful, but incredibly functional. It feels both fresh and timeless. The design is different, while still sympathetic to our main residence and we love how the structure is incorporated in a way that makes the integration of old and new feel seamless and coherent.