Turrbal and Yuggera
Queensland
Brisbane
River Loop House is an alteration and addition to a midcentury detached house in suburban Brisbane. New works reconfigure the original plan to improve social connectivity, respond to climate, and emphasise the presence of the suburban setting, including the revegetated garden and the pleasant neighbourhood streetscape (part of a popular inner city cycling route known as the ‘River Loop’).
Reconfigured internal planning, circulation and new openings create expansive and generous volumes, with only 14m2 added to the overall GFA.
The resulting building is more open and generous than its predecessor, providing a pleasant living environment for its occupants, promoting social engagement through the active occupation of the front garden and street elevation, and establishing a lush, native garden that contributes to the visual appeal of the local streetscape and the broader suburban garden setting of Yeronga.
A series of interventions to this modest mid-century home sensitively reconcile the qualities of new and old. Considered additions and subtractions reframe how River Loop House is occupied, with design decisions seemingly directed by imagining how to inhabit a space with joy. The careful unpicking and re-stitching of structure and space creates a seamless composition while improving access to garden, natural light, and breeze. The repositioned kitchen recalibrates connections to family, street, and community in unexpected and delightful ways. The deliberate staging of rooms with restrained, complementary materials is in keeping with the character of the home, which sits comfortably at the human scale. The modesty and joy of River Loop House is the flawless craft of masterful hands at the top of their game.