Tiny Home Architecture | Boomers Daily

The Local Project (December 29, 2023) – Fitzroy Laneway House is an architects own tiny house grounded in foresight and malleability – attributes that an architect brings when designing their own home.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architects Own Tiny House 01:32 – A Family Centred Brief 02:01 – A Walkthrough and the Layout of the House 03:18 – Integrating the Landscape and Exterior 03:50 – A Robust and Grounded Material Palette 04:54 – The Connected Design Approach

Andrew Child of Andrew Child Architecture creates a family home designed with both the present and the future in mind that eloquently responds to its inner-city Melbourne location. Andrew was immediately drawn to the original home, which is one of five Victorian terrace homes in a historically rich street in Fitzroy – a vibrant locale with lots of old buildings mixed in with new pieces of architecture. The brief for an architects own tiny house was to create a residence that would accommodate Andrew and his family into the future and be open to change.

“I also wanted something quite informal, that felt relaxed. We want to have fun here,” says Andrew. Fitzroy Laneway House is founded on the notion of connection to the site and the surrounding area. “I wanted the house to feel like a sanctuary, but I still wanted it to feel like we are connected to Fitzroy,” notes Andrew. As such, large windows offer views of the garden, neighbouring buildings and across rooftops. “If things change, like trees knocked down, we have installed shading blinds, timber screens, metal screen curtains, drapes and hanging planters, which all help with managing privacy while still making us feel connected to the locale,” says Andrew.

A sculptural tiny house enveloped by the garden, Plaster Fun House represents a light-hearted shift from the residential norm. Designed by Sans-Arc Studio, the extension of the tiny house sees the old and new united in a home defined by curves. Located in Torrensville, a western suburb of Adelaide, Plaster Fun House takes inspiration from its cultural surroundings.

Video timeline: 00:00 – The Local Project’s Print Publication 00:14 – Introduction to Plaster Fun House 00:50 – An Interesting Brief 01:15 – Integrating Old and New 01:41 – A Backyard Oasis 02:00 – Curves in all the Right Places 02:28 – Taking Inspiration from Migrant Housing 03:00 – Colour Splashing Throughout 03:50 – A Display of the Clients Personalities 04:32 – Interacting with the Surrounding Environment 05:45 – Subscribe to The Local Project’s Print Publication

Though, a house tour reveals that the primary architectural aspects of the tiny house contrast the immediate built landscape, testifying instead to an art deco style. Sans-Arc Studio introduces curves into the architecture, interior design and particularly the custom joinery of the tiny house.

As well as injecting a playful character into the home, the curves enable effortless movement through the compact space. Responding to the clients’ request for terrazzo to be used wherever possible, Sans-Arc Studio employs terrazzo benchtops. Stepping down into the extension of the home, the terrazzo material of the kitchen island benchtop unites the old and new aspects of the dwelling, a staggering from kitchen bench to dining surface marks the threshold between new and existing.

Across the façade of the tiny house, natural light plays across the stucco wall treatment; a crafted ode to the Mediterranean-inspired housing of the surrounds. The resulting home is peaceful, artistic and unique, providing the clients with a new and inviting extension.