Design/Completion 1994-1995

Birchgrove, Sydney

Dr & Mrs Russell Meares

242 m 2

Concrete masonry walls, steel roof

Even though this is a modest size house, its visual impact comes from the interior form, the almost cathedral-like vertical spaces and their interaction over split level floors. The house is built on a narrow site, enjoying an incomparably beautiful outlook on the waterfront of Sydney Harbour. The site slopes up from the water and the entrance is located on the long side, on a dead end street with a park opposite.

The full width of the house is devoted to the main living room, which faces the harbour and a wide terrace above a swimming pool near the water’s edge. To compensate for the site’s narrowness, a vertical dimension is introduced over the living space, sweeping up over the split level entrance and staircase toward the upper level. This containing the master bedroom and study.
The high space is moulded into a curvilinear form, flowing down to effect a low shading roof overhang.

Construction is of split face concrete block walls, braced by a system of light steel columns supporting double curved steel beams which create the silhouette of the house.