The winner of Australia’s most significant architectural award for houses, this work was praised for its ‘effortless and timeless contribution to architectural speculations on domesticity’. It is also recognised among the foremost projects for its sustainability considerations and for the attention paid its historical significance. The predominant materials are masonry with concrete slabs and in-situ concrete structural walls. The main external walls area actually made of twice re-cycled bricks because the first house was built of recycled bricks due to a lack of building materials following the Second World War. A defining image is the concrete, used as exposed floor plates, with structural walls and with structural beams left exposed.
IN BRIEF
A substantial alteration and addition to the client’s grandfather’s house. The decision to retain and recycle parts of the old house is sentimental, and every piece of the new one, bespoke.
ARCHITECT’S WORDS
We shared an interest with our clients in the legacy of Watler Burley and Marion Mahony Griffin’s Castlecrag. The design was to respect this context and pay homage to the beautiful and distinct features and characteristics of the site and the memories embedded in it. The spatial requirements of the brief were family areas (eat in kitchen, lounge, cosy lounge), bedrooms for each of the children and a separate parents area incorporating an art studio and study, and a separate flat for the client’s mother.
The decision to retain and recycle parts of the old house is sentimental, and every piece of the new one, bespoke. The plan is based on a pinwheel with spaces responding to the three remarkable qualities of the site – a large sandstone outcrop, an Angophora forest and view to Middle Harbour.
ACCOLADES
• AIA National Awards, Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture 2011
• AIA NSW Awards, Alterations and Additions Architecture Award 2011
• BPN Sustainability Awards, jury citation: “Castlecrag House not only honours the character and topographic response demanded by Walter Burley Griffin\\'s original, but also honours the original house and makes outstanding reuse of the demolition raw materials.”
PRODUCTS
SANDSTONE BLOCK WALLS & EXTERNAL FACE BRICK
RECYCLED FROM ORIGINAL HOUSE AND RECYCLED BRICKS
POOL INTERIOR TILES
ACE STONE + TILES
TIMBER FLOOR
RECYCLED TALLOWWOOD
KITCHEN FLOOR FINISH
ACTIVA RUBBER FLOORING
BATHROOM FLOOR STONE TILES
AZUL VALVERDE
BATHROOM WALL TILES
YOHEN WHITE
PLACA
JOINERY
RECYCLED TALLOWWOOD
CURTAIN FABRICS
KNOLL TEXTILES
YOYO GOLD
MAHARAM
DIFFUSE PEARl
UPHOLSTERY FABRIC
STEELCUT TRIO YELLOW
WINDOW + DOOR SYSTEMS
SKYRANGE ENGINEERING
ALUMINIUM & GLASS CONSTRUCTIONS
ANEETA WINDOWS
LIGHTING
EUROLUCE LIGHTING AUSTRALIA, EXTERIOR LIGHT FITTINGS
FIXTURES & EQUIPMENT CUSTOM STUDY DESK
BECLAU DESIGN FURNITURE
CUSTOM FISHTANK
ST GEORGE AQUARIUMS
CEILING FANS
HUNTER PACIFIC
HEATING
NOBO, MOUNTED ELECTRIC
OUTDOOR HEATING
THERMOFILM AUSTRALIA, HEAT STRIP
RANGEHOOD
QASAIR
COOKTOP & DISHWASHER
MIELE AUSTRALIA
FRIDGE & FREEZER
LIEBHERR AUSTRALIA
WASHING MACHINE & DRYER
SIEMENS HOME APPLIANCES
BARBEQUE
ELECTROLUX HOME PRODUCTS
KITCHEN MIXER
VOLA
KITCHEN SINK
CUSTOM OVER-MOUNTED STAINLESS STEEL SINK
BATHROOM TAPWARE
REECE HVAC, SCOPE & SCALA SATIN CHROME
SHOWERHEADS
REECE HVAC
WASHBASINS & TOILET SUITES
DURAVIT
BATHTUBS
ROLL TOP CLAW FOOT BATHS
TOP LEVEL WASHROOM BATH MIXER
VOLA
TOWER RAILS
FLOOR TO CEILING HYDROTHERM FLOOR TO CEILING HEATED
OUTDOOR SHOWER CB
IDEAL TAPWARE
