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OR VIEW ALL PROJECTSOR GO BACK TO SEARCH RESULTSOR VIEW ALLRESIDENTIAL PROJECTS1992 PROJECTSPROJECTS IN SYDNEYPROJECTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY FARSHID ASSASSI |
Naturally it's known as The White House, although it was born as a brown house. Neighbours have been fascinated by the metamorphosis. It's the architectural equivalent of a chorus-line brunette becoming a platinum blonde. In four years, a dark brick row-house (identical to nine nearby) was transformed into a substantial corner residence of arresting appearance.
Buffs of architecture, prevalent in this historic suburb of Sydney, are especially curious about the project because they understand some of the intentions of the owner/designer. It is intended to be a comfortable home and office for a professional couple, but more than that; the white house is a fan7s tribute to contemporary New York architect Richard Meier. The design interprets Meier's ideas about geometry, layering of structure, use of materials, and harnessing of sunlight. It's also influenced by Le Corbusier, the pioneer of 20th century modernism.
The owner became interested in architecture only after buying this property seven years ago. "After moving in I began to feel unsettled about this house," he says. "I didn't know why, so I decided to do some research into architecture and I came across a book about Richard Meier. His work struck me like a bolt of lightning. So I decided to go to New York to see him."
After inspecting Meier's plans and models, he contracted a Sydney architect and draftsmen to help him plan his renovations. Although involved in a creative profession, the owner has no formal training in either structural design or technical illustration . . . "I knew what I wanted but I needed someone to draw the sections and axonometrics."
Like Meier's buildings, the white house is developed from a grid system. To match walls of the existing structure, a 400mm grid was adopted. "Once it was possible to overlay a grid, then it was a matter of sketching different possibilities to see which worked best," says the owner. "Gradually the existing structure was eroded and twisted around. Originally it faced the street, eventually it was oriented more towards the corner."
Because the site is so confined, the owner has tried to create illusions of space. This has been done with a technique related to false perspective. Instead of designing an open-plan interior, the owner has adapted Meier's method of layering vertical elements of the structure so that a sense of depth is created.
Here's how it works: if you stand in a room or corridor on the south side of the house, you can look north past an internal brick wall to a room beyond, through glass doors to a balcony, and then through a steel frame to a Meieresque stand of pine trees in the back garden. Thanks to these long lines of sight, small rooms seem larger. And if you look from the street at the north face (rear) of the house, you can see exactly how it's done.
The owner explains: "There are three skins - a steel framework like an open grid, a wall of glass that's semi -transparent, and a brick wall that's opaque. They act like filters; beyond them, you've penetrated right into the house."
As well as these vertical layers, the house has three horizontal tiers that also act like filters. The ground floor, containing the dining room, kitchen, entry foyer and a small waiting area, is the public zone used to receive clients and entertain guests. The more-private first floor has two bathrooms, Here's how it works: if you stand in a room or corridor on the south side of the house, you can look north past an internal brick wall to a room beyond, through glass doors to a balcony, and then through a steel frame to a Meieresque stand of pine trees in the back garden. Thanks to these long lines of sight, small rooms seem larger. And if you look from the street at the north face (rear) of the house, you can see exactly how it's done.
The owner explains: "There are three skins - a steel framework like an open grid, a wall of glass that's semi -transparent, and a brick wall that's opaque. They act like filters; beyond them, you've penetrated right into the house."
As well as these vertical layers, the house has three horizontal tiers that also act like filters. The ground floor, containing the dining room, kitchen, entry foyer and a small waiting area, is the public zone used to receive clients and entertain guests. The more-private first floor has two bathrooms, a living room and an office. The top floor is a private place - the bedroom.
The use of the design grid has given the house a strong sense of order and formality. It's a complex rectilinear composition relieved by several examples of circular geometry: porthole windows and interior features with outlines in the manner of the famous Corbusier curves. To get these edges exact, the owner gave tradesmen enlarged photocopies of Corb's drawings. (Meier also has copied Corb's curves for his projects.) In addition, much of the furniture has been made in Corbusian style, using his preferred diameters and profiles of steel pipe.
In homage to Meier's objects of architectural sculpture, the house has been painted almost entirely white. Exceptions are several internal sliding doors (European oak stained black) and the kitchen floor (hardwood slats like a ship's deck). Despite a need for regular housekeeping and maintenance, the owner remains pleased with his colour scheme: "White is a good background for human activity. Some people dress in black to come here."
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