Servants’ quarters, elevators, and the realization of views were making apartment living more appealing to the upper middle classes and increasing the value of the top floors. Join Nick for an in-depth look at how the Upper West Side revolutionized apartment living and became the birthplace of the penthouse in Manhattan.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Landscape Architects Family Home 00:45 – A Coastal Location 01:11 – A Walkthrough of the House 01:59 – The Fundamental Features 02:43 – Behind the Interior Design of the Home 03:30 – Weathering All Seasons and All Conditions 04:20 – The Plant Palette 05:00 – A Mediterranean Inspired Design
“When designing a garden, I believe it comes down to balance – balance of hard surfaces, soft surfaces, understanding the natural environment and the plant palette,” says Anthony of his approach to the house, which sits on a corner allotment.
On arrival, one is immediately met with a beautiful mature olive that overhangs the entrance, setting the scene for a home that clearly interacts with its garden and foliage. The interior design of the landscape architects own family home was designed with the help of interior designers Marco Meneguzzi and Tamsin Johnson, who saw the vision for the interior spaces align with the vision for the garden. It is the garden of the landscape architects own family home that is most impressive.
Anthony takes cues from both local and Mediterranean architecture and sensibilities to create an immersive outdoor retreat. One of the main features was the boulder in the rear garden – an impressive natural element central to the whole design. Other key features include a cabana structure covered in greenery, with its own planted roof, a fireplace, an open pergola that is waterproofed and a pool.
Whilst there is an expression of style, at the core of the garden is pragmatism and comfort, ensuring the outdoors can be enjoyed without needing to withstand the elements. The front, multi-tiered garden of the landscape architects own family home is elevated, faces the street and acts as an extension of the interior entertaining space. A plant palette of mature trees is used to create vibrancy and scale, which is combined with hedging and underplanting to imbue the home with softness.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to the Hidden Garden House 00:57 – The Inner-Melbourne Location 01:18 – A Specific and Well Written Brief 01:45 – A Walkthrough of the Home 02:32 – Integrating A Colour Pop 03:10 – An Indoor Jungle 03:39 – Utilising A Robust Material Palette 04:22 – The Brickworks Collaboration 05:40 – An Exciting Future
The client put forth interesting architectural reference points for the renovation. An extension creates the main communal, outdoor and private realms, and two east-west bands further divide each of these realms into two zones. The kitchen and dining are the heart of the home, with a sunken lounge that comes off the kitchen space. Expressed beams, clerestory glazing and concrete pavers connect the communal outdoor areas, which also sees the courtyard act as its own room.
Perhaps the most powerful design concept of the renovation is this assimilation of the courtyard, which further elevates the home as a hidden garden house. Designing a central courtyard not only offers a great sense of connectedness to the landscape but also maximises ventilation and natural light in the living and bedroom areas. As a way of navigating the small size of the site, key themes the architect leverages are that of separation and connection to ensure there are comfortable places to gather and retreat.
Breeze-block walls establish the various zones of the house and allow for an abundance of light, air and outward views. Similarly, accessing the bedroom requires walking across the open-air courtyard – a deliberate retreat from the house. The interior design of Sunday is defined by a robust materiality, muted palettes, clear geometries and spaces sculpted by light. Natural textures dominate, with minimal surface treatments allowing the house to develop its own patina with time that continues throughout internal and external areas of the home. Bold yellow also features throughout the hidden garden house, which is inspired by the client’s love of Luis Barragán’s colours.
This one-of-a-kind home is made almost entirely from reclaimed materials salvaged from surrounding areas and inspired by the structural design of a sandcastle. But what makes Sandcastle House so special is Gesner built it with his own two hands for his family, making it a true labor of love.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro the Californian Inspired Family Home 00:50 – The Location of the Home 01:08 – A Desert Modernism Brief 01:36 – Connection to the Landscape 02:09 – A Walkthrough of the Home 03:18 – Behind the Collaborative Process 03:52 – The Material Palette 04:30 – Unique Aspects of the Home 04:53 – A Robust, Relaxed, Character Filled Home
After spending some time travelling around California, the clients delivered a detailed brief for a home renovation that was inspired by the architecture and interior design of desert modernism. Additionally, the brief requested a family home designed to suit a growing family and allow them access to an abundance of natural light. As the clients were a winemaker and photographer, the brief also requested a connection to landscape and the garden beyond.
The house tour begins in the original part of the house, where a considered renovation to the interior design has taken place; the bedrooms, master ensuite and main bathroom are now located here. Moving throughout, the original portion seamlessly connects to the new extensions through carefully designed openings. In the new extension of the home, the house tour reveals a simple open plan living space with a wealth of natural light. Cutting the family house in four quadrants, the family home designed by studio gram employs one quadrant as the kitchen, another for the dining space and the third for a living area.
The fourth quadrant is removed and, in its place, a courtyard garden is included to enhance the connection to nature. As a collaboration between studio gram, the client and the landscape designer, the garden and home unfold as one and give the owners a home that seamlessly connects all aspects. Additionally, discussions of midcentury Palm Springs and desert modernism played a major role in the renovation as well as the architecture and interior design of the home.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to the Dream Beach House 00:44 – Behind The Original Mid-80s Build 01:53 – Facilitating an Outdoors Lifestyle 02:11 – A Walkthrough of the Home 03:15 – Key Features of The Kitchen 04:29 – A Robust Material Selection 04:56 – The Outcome of A Warm Family Home
As designer Geraldine Maher explains, working within the confines of the home brought challenges and opportunities to the design, and the scope focused on introducing material cohesion and maximising the physical and visual connection to the beach. The thoughtful renovation of the ground floor of the beach house supports this. Stepping inside, a brise soleil constructed from terracotta breezeblocks designed by Adam Goodrum “defines the entry space and creates a sense of arrival,” Geraldine notes. It also helps to gently divide this entry knuckle and the kitchen, which sits deeper into the plan. As Geraldine explains, “relocating the kitchen to the rear of the space maximised the view from the dining area and living space, and those physical and dimensional constraints forced us to shoehorn a kitchen into a very tight space.” Whilst compact, the sense of openness belies the footprint, with thanks to a series of work zones that divide the room and direct the experience, supported by a suite of Fisher & Paykel appliances. Geraldine offers, “the thing that drove the selection of Fisher & Paykel was the design and aesthetic aligning with great functionality and a really high-quality product.” An induction cooktop – housed within a monolithic form constructed from stone and timber and featuring discreet, integrated ventilation – becomes a refined and sculptural centrepiece of the interior design, and the refrigerator and freezer are integrated. Stretching the far elevation, a long piece of joinery acts as a physical conduit between the kitchen’s primary work zones and the informal bar area at the home’s front edge. It also contains two integrated Fisher & Paykel CoolDrawers and two single DishDrawers. The family games room inside the beach house is also equipped with its own Fisher & Paykel CoolDrawer and DishDrawer. Mermaid Beach House is a visually exciting and contextually relevant home. The pleasure comes not only from its elevated internal experience but from its proximity to the ever-changing ocean, meaning the joyfulness felt by its residents will renew with each passing day.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to the Modern Brick House 00:32 – The Location of the Home 00:49 – William Tappin and His Designs 01:05 – Handling the Connection Between Old and New 02:01 – Requirements of the Brief 02:25 – The Interpretation of Arts & Crafts 03:07 – Behind the Kitchen Design 03:30 – A Walkthrough of the Upstairs 04:18 – The Architect’s Proud Moments
Located in the eclectic neighbourhood of South Yarra in Melbourne, William Tappin House depicts the sensitive layering of a historical footprint with contemporary innovation. Originally designed and occupied by its namesake, William Tappin – a renowned Queen Anne-style architect – the connection between old and new was something the architect wanted to handle sensitively, and this influenced the positioning of the building on site.
The existing structure is restored to remain the hero, whilst the new addition is recessive and humble in design. Restorations include revealing the original brickwork and limestone, restoring the existing verandah and carved wooden features. Exposed details, such as the fingerprints of makers on the tiles and original brick, become a symbol of the heritage façade of this home. New additions are highly sensitive to the brick home’s foundation.
The rear addition is constructed from limed timber and off-form concrete that calls back to the tonality of the limestone and basalt detailing of the original structure. Terracotta tiles also wrap the faceted roofscape in an ode to the bespoke red brick. What the house tour shows is a strong connection between inside and out, which prevails throughout the home. The entire ground floor, which contains the kitchen and living areas, opens to the exterior, with views extending all the way out to the garden and beyond – made even more accessible through sliding glazed doors.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro to the Dream Home on a Hidden Beach 00:25 – The Dynamic Brief 01:07 – Arrangement of the Spaces 01:43 – A Wild and Exposed Site 02:05 – Responding to the Varying Conditions 02:57 – A Walkthrough of the Home 03:48 – An Environmentally Reflective Material and Colour Palette 04:42 – Spaces to Entertain 05:00 – A Successful Collaboration 05:22 – The Architects Proud Moments
Waimataruru is the dream home of Kristina Pickford, who oversaw the interior design. The client requested that Pac Studio create a dynamic home in an environment that allowed the owner to engage with the restoration and rehabilitation of the surrounding landscape.
Additionally, the site’s typography played an important role in the arrangement of the dream home and, as such, Pac Studio arranged the architectural features to seamlessly cascade down the natural slope of the site. The house tour shows there is a unifying quality to the home to be admired. Choosing to keep the spaces within the home linked together – differentiated only by floor level – Pac Studio creates a dream home that imbues a feeling of depth thanks to clear sightlines of expansive views outside.
Though exposed to the elements, the residence is built to withstand the dryness of summer, heavy rainfall in spring and autumn and the chill of winter. Responding to the varied weather conditions, Pac Studio added a filtered edge to the northern façade as well as covered verandah-like spaces outside to protect occupants from the elements. Cosy interior design moments have also been added to provide a sense of comfort, such as rear pocket views of the forest behind. With an intentional duality, the architect has created a dream home that embraces both the northern beach and the southern forest.
As the home navigates a sloping site, Pac Studio designed each space to give its own individual experience of the landscape – through different colours and materials – to reflect the surrounding natural environment. Though timber is employed as the main element internally and externally, the additional red oxide wall takes centrestage. Lime plaster walls have also been enhanced by sand from the beach, and waxed steel provides a softness and warmth that further enriches the home’s detailing. Designed to be a dream home, Waimataruru provides the space to sit back and appreciate the surrounds.
Once upon a time, ferries were the only way to travel between New York’s five boroughs but thanks to the construction of major bridges, like the Brooklyn Bridge and George Washington Bridge, the city became connected. Join Michael for a closer look at how five bridges helped shape NYC into the bustling city we know today.
Boomers Daily 