Victoria
Located in the north facing backyard of a 60s yellow brick house, Thornbury Canopy is an operable shading device, and flexible outdoor living space. It is designed to be an adaptable alternative to the typical verandahs (Stratco etc.), often bolted on to suburban buildings, at a comparable cost.
The Kevin Borland Award for Small Project Architecture
Jose Quetglas’ Fear of Glass: The Barcelona Pavilion opens with this evocation: “the puppeteer usually places on the ground, at the start of his presentation, a rug, a rope, or a hat, whatever is necessary to define the space in which the figures will interact, thus separating it from the undefined space of the audience. In this conventional frame, so precarious and ephemeral in its definition, the figures are permitted anything. A clothespin can become a transatlantic ship, a gun, or a dog biting a cop’s rear end”.
This description of the frame perfectly fits the curious canopy we found propped off the face of a Thornbury house. As its architect Gab Oláh performed the sequential routine of sliding roof panes the magical play of the seasons and nature’s fleeting gifts unfolded before us, implicating the house and its occupants in this perpetual show. Two swings, in memory of childhood summers, take centre stage beside a laconic faded hammock. Small decorative vines furtively replace the expectation of grapes or passionfruit from an old neighbour’s yard. The figures here are permitted anything yet seemingly everything has already been imagined and brought into play by this fastidious auteur.
It’s fair to say this project completely exceeded our expectations. It has given us new and unexpected ways to engage with our garden, and we love how it blurs the line between inside and out.
The flexibility built into the canopy is a huge value add, and something we use every day. It’s easy to move, playful, the kids love it, and in hindsight it seems so obvious, I must admit, when we started thinking about adding a verandah, I could not have imagined this is where we would have ended up!
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.
