Offering a playful rendition of the familiar sustainable narrative, Casa Mia enables residents to experience life inside a dream house. Crafted by Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects in collaboration with Caroline Di Costa Architect, the residence uses brickwork to convey a liberating message.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to Casa Mia 00:28 – High-Density Living 01:11 – A Playful Space 01:53 – Providing a Presence and Privacy 02:13 – Sustainable Brickwork 03:08 – Love and Appreciation for Brickworks 03:39 – Historic and Ancient Japanese Architecture 04:25 – Utilising Unfinished Materials 05:00 – Sustainable Design 05:47 – The Architect’s Favourite Aspects of the House

Located on the Ocean Mia Estate in City Beach, Casa Mia is an architect’s own home, sitting in contrast to the built context. Constructed from carefully positioned brickwork with spaces between bricks at its edge, the dream house juxtaposes the rectilinear forms of the surrounding buildings, presenting a dynamic profile of surprising lightness.

Liaising with Brickworks, Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects both inheres the project with a sense of sustainability and makes the concept legible as a prominent feature of the architect’s own home. Brickworks enables its products to be applied to the dream house in their uncut state – an atypical usage – in order to minimise waste. Every brick of the dream house is locally sourced and exhibits colours reminiscent of the earthy natural landscape. Inspired by Japanese architecture, Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects employs fully-glazed bricks around particular openings.

The bricks bounce sunlight into the depths of the home, allowing the residents to save energy where possible. Although Casa Mia represents the weight of responsibility architects have towards the environment, it also presents this responsibility as beneficial. Iredale Pederson Hook Architects and Caroline Di Costa Architect craft a dream house that rejoices in its sustainability, utilising the colour and texture of brick to suggest a playful variation of an architect’s own home.