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Architects: Jackson Teece
- Area: 198 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Christopher Frederick Jones
Text description provided by the architects. This re-creation of a family home, tailored to its occupant’s lifestyles, was realised through careful consideration of layout and context. Gresham Street House is an example of vernacular architecture, the architect and Director of Jackson Teece, Daniel Hudson lived there for 6 years before taking on the redesign. Ultimately, he has taken an existing “Queenslander” and shaped the design to create a home that acts as the epitome of shelter in a harsh climate.
“Internally it was almost the opposite of what it should be. It was around the wrong way. So the main objective was to reconfigure the layout, the program of the house, without changing any of the wall locations.” - Daniel Hudson, Jackson Teece Director.
The retention of the existing masonry, coupled with a pragmatic and performative design defined the spatial arrangement and material selection. Passive sustainability and design principles resulted in reduced waste, minimising the carbon footprint and embodied energy. The house can be opened up in summer to purge heat and closed down to cocoon its occupants in the winter. The addition of a flexible indoor/outdoor pavilion type space further supports an energy-efficient design and provides a large communal family space with a connection to the pool and landscape.
The redesign of the floor plan responds directly to the site’s orientation and context. The living spaces which were located on the southwest of the plan are now connected to the garden and have become the heart of the home. Relocating these functions into a pavilion at the rear of the house provides a more appropriate response to the context and provides a space for family activities and entertaining.
The design carefully considered solar access and control. The pavilion addition faces north, featuring angled timber blades to shade the east and west façades. Modeling determined the blade’s angle, eliminating direct solar penetration during the summer, with full sun penetration in winter. Galleries of louvers are oriented to encourage cool air flow from the pool and the cooling bay breeze from the east, while high positioned louvers allow heat to escape.
Efficiency in use of materials, such as the re-purposing of porcelain and stone slab off-cuts, required pre-planning and careful overseeing of manufacture to ensure reduced waste. Considered selection of plantation timbers, inclusion of rainwater tanks for garden irrigation and installation of a solar array was also undertaken to limit this project’s short and long-term environmental impacts.
A new secure timber batten entry annex flanks the existing eastern façade, allowing the house to be left open to freely ventilate, the entry stair doubles as an internal access to the lower level resulting in reduced spatial impact on floor space. It also shades the masonry from direct sun moderating internal temperature.
The family now benefit from a house that responds to their daily lives; the sequence of leaving for school or work and equally returning home, a common family recreation space, but also alternate spaces that can be shut down for privacy or to get away.
Visual and physical connection to landscape and open space is a recurring theme in the design, contributing to a subtropical living experience. Close collaboration with the structural engineer resulted in large spans and efficient bracing, contributing to achieving the feeling of spaciousness within the pavilion and an unobscured aperture to the external landscape. The design provides a private and serene home which connects with the external environment in an inner-city setting.
A new secure timber batten entry annex flanks the existing eastern façade, allowing the house to be left open to freely ventilate, the entry stair doubles as an internal access to the lower level resulting in reduced spatial impact on floor space. It also shades the masonry from direct sun moderating internal temperature.
The family now benefit from a house that responds to their daily lives; the sequence of leaving for school or work and equally returning home, a common family recreation space, but also alternate spaces that can be shut down for privacy or to get away.
Visual and physical connection to landscape and open space is a recurring theme in the design, contributing to a subtropical living experience. Close collaboration with the structural engineer resulted in large spans and efficient bracing, contributing to achieving the feeling of spaciousness within the pavilion and an unobscured aperture to the external landscape. The design provides a private and serene home which connects with the external environment in an inner-city setting.
