[interview] the project story
Image Credit : Photographer: Jack Lovel
Project Overview
This new house was designed to accommodate a couple of soon to be empty nesters. Built on an irregular block the ground floor of the house was conceived as 3 distinct zones punctured by 2 glazed interstitial areas. This allowed the linear arrangement of the house to be perceived as contained and expanded.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Robert Davidov (Davidov Partners Architects) - Architect
Robert Davidov (Davidov Partners Architects) - Interiors
John Patrick (John Patrick Landscape Architects) - Landscape
Project Brief
The entry to the house enters directly into the first of these interstitial areas which contains the staircase and views beyond, allowing the modest proportions of the size (varying between 8-12m) to be maximized. The second interstitial area is occupied by the kitchen island executed as a simple black box containing some of the kitchen facilities. The other cooking and cleaning facilities as well as a walk in pantry are located adjacent to the island concealed from view.
The first floor master bedroom is conceived as a hotel suite. The WC and shower are housed within a curved module rendered in the same cement render as the exterior of the building.
The curved wall of the shower animates the stark façade of the building, which, depending on the lighting levels and time of day emerges and submerges from view from the street.
The limited palate of natural materials, namely cement render and unfilled travertine are used throughout the house both internally and externally. Over time the contrasting effects of external wear and internal protection will allow the inherent nature of these materials to become more pronounced adding another layer of interest and subtle contrast.
Project Innovation/Need
The design innovation behind LSD Residence was generated
from the irregular sized lot. The aim was to make both inhabitants and visitors unaware of the change in width reducing from 12m to 8m wide. The perceived width of the property is maximised through the careful consideration in the programming of both levels.
Another novel element is presented in the kitchen’s design. The clients required a public kitchen or bar to be presented in such a way for it to be a natural hub when visitors and family are around, however also wanted another private kitchen for the real cooking and cleaning to take place. This resulted in a butler kitchen designed in close proximity to the central island of the now communal kitchen area.
Additionally, the master bedroom, which has been designed in the guise of an open plan hotel suite, has a feature façade glazing which extends from below the floor level to the parapet line allowing for completely full height windows which maximise view lines. The room also incorporates an innovative oculus in the concrete rendered shower which features a concealed LED lighting halo as the only artificial light source.
Design Challenge
Apart from the irregular block for the site, a major challenge during the project were town planning restrictions. Attempting to maximise view lines on such a constrained block brought up limitations with overlooking. Additional challenges that needed to be catered to were overshadowing, and boundary walls due to the limited space present. As the site is fairly linear, the design was conceived as 3 blocks punctuated by 2 glazed interstitial zones which contain the staircase/entry and kitchen/bar/alfresco areas.
Sustainability
LSD Residence achieves a 6 star energy rating through the use of multiple sustainable design featured. All glass employed in the design is high performance and has a low E value and the use of brick veneer walls and an insulated concrete slab on ground further improves the thermal performance of the house. The finishes and render used internally and externally are significantly hard wearing and low maintenance allowing the building to age gracefully. Solar boosted hot water and rain water harvesting is also present in the design. The 2 feature ponds are also intended to assist in passive cooling.
Architecture - Residential - Constructed
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow.
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