This project intent was to capitalize on the rear vacant land by retaining the existing front property and develop a new rear with a contemporary designed townhouse. The property is located behind a shopping precinct and the Council planning scheme encouraged denser development.
The core design philosophy interrogates the human tendency to “retreat into nature and isolate the public domain.” By extruding the facade and study area to “frame the street view,” the design provides Prospect—a controlled visual connection to the urban environment. Conversely, the interior provides refuge. The “beautiful centralized stairs” act as a Spatial Anchor, creating a physical and psychological threshold that separates the public living zones from the private sleeping quarters. This ensures the home feels like a sanctuary despite its location behind a bustling shopping precinct.
The facade adopts a Formalist Minimalist approach but rejects flatness through “Material Composition.” By using multiple brick colors on the ground floor and transitioning to cement sheet and timber above, the building achieves Visual Weight. This stratification grounds the building in its urban context while using lighter materials at the top to reduce the perceived mass of the “large development” on a shared lot.To combat the “darker spaces” inherent in dense rear-lot developments, the design utilizes a Light Well strategy. A skylight placed above the central stairs acts as a “vertical aperture,” funneling natural light into the core of the ground floor.
Service
Architecture & Redevelopment
Sector
Residential
Budget
AUD 0.5M
Land Area
670 sq. m
Built Area
235 sq. m
Bedrooms
4
Bathrooms
3
Parking
2
