Bunratty by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture is a beautiful new family home set against five acres of rolling hillside, within a stones throw of the Brisbane CBD, in the Western suburb of The Gap.

Texturally rich, and oriented with panoramic views to the Brisbane skyline, this long term family home is a contemporary beauty that allows hill rolling, garden playing and family entertaining.

Tucked out of sight of the street, a meandering driveway opens up to be greeted by dynamic roof forms that follow the line of the hillside. Two halves of the building create a saddle where elevated living spaces straddle the landscape and take in vast panoramic views.

Architecture & Design: Can you describe the initial vision for this project and how it evolved over time?

Alexandra Buchanan Architecture: The brief for this project was to design a family home with clear delineation between public and private portions of the home. The home needed to address bushfire risks in its siting on the property.

The clients requested that the plan give equal importance to the views up the hill to the vegetation as well as down the hill over the suburb and across to the city views. The clients wished for a home that gave them the sense of permanence and was integrated with the site. In this way, we played with ways in which the home could sit in, on and over the site – allowing for different relationships with the site allocated to different zones of the home.

What were the biggest challenges you faced during the design and construction phases, and how did you overcome them?

Some design and construction challenges were mitigating cost escalations with site works digging into the hill – overcome by considered placement of the dwelling and consistent reviews with the builder, achieving the right ratio of privacy and openness for the client – successive design workshops testing ideas and modelling for review.

Another challenge was water / overland flow concerns when designing a home downhill of a slope – close and considered coordination with a Civil Engineering team to model and design water flow around the building.

How did you ensure that the project met the client’s needs and expectations?

To begin the journey, we have a very detailed briefing process including workshops to obtain the clients brief and wishes. This is followed by a very thorough collaborative workshop and feedback schedule to continually test ideas and ensure all requirements were being met before continuing to document the project.

Were there any unique or innovative techniques or materials used in this project?

Concrete was used (but concealed) to achieve spans and cantilevers within the structural design. Steel was allowed for large roof spans.
The steel structure was also expressed / exposed around the perimeter.
Specific timber species were used to comply with Bushfire Attack Level (BAL) requirements.

How does this project fit into your broader portfolio and design philosophy?

Our studios aim to create beautiful, liveable architecture, interiors and landscapes that respond to the clients story based on connection, craftmanship & highly considered spaces to live well.

Bunratty is an example of this continual delivery exploring clients briefs and wishes to ensure the project is truly unique and tailored specifically to them and their site. This project is a new house on an empty lot, it is among our diverse portfolio including a range of typologies from one-off residential dwellings, renovations & additions to heritage buildings, workspace, off-grid eco cabins & multi residential apartment buildings.

Bunratty is a continuation of our exploration in manipulation of space, light, form and material, to create bespoke environments & evoke unique experiences for exceptional living – for example, Bunratty’s connection to site, Clerestory window placement for specific views and solar gain, lighting design, seamless internal and external living.

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