(HOUSING – BUILT – SYDNEY)
This project is a series of six major artistically inspired interventions into an existing dwelling. These explorations manifest themselves as a dynamic intersection of sculptural elements. The owners requested a new stair, a new study, a guest bathroom, a re-modelled kitchen with sunroom, a new bar and a barbecue.


Intervention 1:
Marcel Duchamp’s painting ‘Nu descendant un escalier, no.2’ has been taken as inspiration for the external composition of the new staircase. Internally though, the design revolves around experiential concerns. Positioned perpendicular to the front wall of the house, the new stair has been designed as a journey so that each time one travels up or down the stair, they also travel outside the house and back in again. This positioning also creates a north-facing ‘picture window’ at the landing that extends the view beyond the house and over the garage to the trees and sky beyond. It also creates a sun-drenched journey up and down the stair.
Intervention 2:
The space left by the old stair became the guest bathroom on the ground floor and the study at the first floor. The bathroom is an early example of one of our glass bathrooms, although in this instance the owners were interested in texture, so textured ‘Ozone’ glass was used on the walls and floor. The design also explores an alternative solution for how the clear glass shower screen opens, and how the water in the shower drains away. The study above fits into a super-compact space that manipulates the head-height in the stair for leg-room at the study bench, and has a door that can be set in 3 locations – study open, study closed, and first floor closed off for extra security.
Intervention 3:
The entry courtyard was remodelled to accommodate the alteration/extension of the kitchen and addition of a new sunroom. The proximity of the new sunroom to the garage required an angled incision into the corner of the garage to allow for a wider entry to the existing house. The new entry forms a part of the overall sculptural composition of the new work and explores the use of textured and mirrored glass in the interior.
Intervention 4:
The kitchen is a sculptural composition of forms that successfully allows for a dynamic yet coherent transition from the low space of the old kitchen into the higher new extended section. The adjacent sunroom allows for informal dining and a view through to the entrance courtyard.
Intervention 5:
The bar is conceived of as a functional sculpture, with the separate elements performing the tasks of bottle + glass storage, refrigeration, tap and sink. The entire composition is clad in white ‘Marblo’ – an Australian waterproof solid-surface resin material.

Intervention 6:
An outdoor barbecue area designed as a sculptural composition inspired by Rietveld and Chernikov.
DRAWINGS
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