Window, window, window | PANOV—SCOTT

An early project of Panov—Scott, designed in 2014, for immediate family and crafted with love over many years. The exigent project required great architectural economy, but allowed an engagement over time in which integration of landscape and built form could enrich the experience of the other.

The project called for three additional rooms and a new entrance stair, to an existing house by the beach for extended family and guests. The works are largely under the footprint of the existing house, so as to minimally impact the surrounding landscape.

Over the years these three small rooms in addition to the existing house have become emblematic for us of the act of doing very little. A low-resolution architecture that eschews virtuosic technical making but nonetheless enables heightened experience and facilitates an enduring connection with country.

House in Narrawallee | Architect George

House in Narrawallee is a post-and-beam platform home perched on stilts, which sits lightly on the sloping land beneath. The brief was to imaginatively reinvent the beachcomber style home to accommodate extended family trips down the coast from Sydney, but without losing the home or surrounding area’s charm.

Kassia St Clair’s The Secret Lives of Colour was a starting point for our investigation into a playful, yet contextual, use of colour. St Clair unpacks the historical and cultural differences between various tones of the same colour. During several visits to the site and its surrounding context, we gathered fallen branches and leaves in unexpected and various hues which formed the inspiration for a series of rooms soaked in colour.

High Street | Lineburg Wang

A tiny pre–1911 cottage on a tiny 253m2 site, the design works hard to find generosity.

The existing house is moved forward, a relaxation to all boundary edges enables enough space to construct one special room to the rear.

The project builds less in order to provide generosity on a constrained site – the special room remains flexible, void of any fixed walls or cabinetry that could dictate the permanence of the occupant’s routine.

The room is an empty square, serviced by a utility core, circumnavigated by a split-level stair. By removing obstacles, the special room is free, occupied only by loose furnishings, changeable. With doors open, the internal and external public space operates as a single volume, sharing the same brick materiality.

The project challenges the commonly prescribed room requirements of today’s homes, working with strategies of expanding constrained space to ensure the small site does not feel small.

Timber House | Mather Architecture

Timber House showcases how existing buildings with character and charm can be successfully transformed for modern family living. The 62 sqm extension and clever reconfiguration of functional spaces has brought new life to this 1970s home originally designed by Harkin & Ziersch Architects from Melbourne.

Existing features, including timber ceilings and clerestory windows, have been revived and celebrated, with new clerestory windows bringing in additional natural light and a soft illumination to the space. New timber flooring, joinery and ceiling linings result in a delightfully warm and comforting home. Expansive double–glazed windows capture views to outside and lush vegetation, while drenching the living areas with natural light.

Stage 1: new garage/workshop and a self–contained unit under the main home for multi–generational living or guests. Stage 2: master bedroom suite was constructed along with a reconfiguration of internal spaces. Stage 3: new kitchen, dining, and living areas featuring clerestory windows.

TERRACE HOUSE MIRAGE | ALCAMI ARCHITECTURE

The walls of this gem hold 150 years of stories frozen in time, now meticulously restored. Unfolding a narrative that defies spatial limits says Victor Alcami, Director of Alcami Architecture.

The fully openable ground floor with sliding panels transforms into an open space haven. A visionary design with outdoor elements inspired by Mediterranean vernacular architecture infuse cultural nostalgia, while elevated mirrors expand the space with an infinite perspective.

A love letter to Victorian terraces, the operable courtyard, a symphony of custom design, breaths fresh air. Sunlight dances, highlighting the natural finishes, while a vibrant orange bathroom promises indulgent selfcare. Sustainability whispers through repurposed materials and repaired walls, ensuring longevity.

Metallic finishes echo Chippendale’s industrial heartbeat, blending Modernism, Japanese seduction, and reminiscences from European interior design. Alcami’s style resonates with transitional mystery, offering an aspirational escape through art and architecture, inviting a desire for more tales from this poetic design journey.

Smith House | Fowler and Ward

Smith House is a project that celebrates, rather than reinvents an under–appreciated era of housing; the ubiquitous, brown brick, tiled roof, free standing suburban home.

Tucking in beneath the western eaves and dropping below the existing floor level, a modest 8m2 extension transforms the home. The design reorients the interior to its garden, bringing sunshine inside and opening up what was a highly segmented floor plan. Quality, not quantity of space is the priority.

Small interventions celebrate the home’s character and offer an alternative to the usual; paint, render or demolish. Tesselated tiles, amber glazing and diagonal timber cladding peek out from the front arches while recycled and reclaimed brown brick is celebrated in the extension, laid in stackbond to delineate itself from its predecessor. The project demonstrates how working within an existing envelope and embracing character results in a delightful way of living without rebuilding.

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