design
mag |
13
Photography:
John Gollings
dining area with its timber-lined ceiling to the
long northern garden, blurring the distinction
between internal and external.The garden’s
rectilinear forms contrast with the sculptural
informality of the house.
The blurring between inside and out continues
at the main entrance where the face brickwork
enters the house, which seems to be an
emerging trend.“I think this is becoming a little
bit more common,” agrees builder Joe Dema of
BD Projects.“We are doing more projects now
where they are integrating that external finish
inside and extending the relationship between
the outside and the inside.”
The brick-clad upper ‘dormitory’ level is
cantilevered some two metres to provide
essential summer shading along the northern
elevation.The brickwork on this level is
supported on steel beams cantilevered off
columns to form the main beams of the
upper-level floor structure.The north-facing
windows on this level are fitted with retractable
sun screens.
The bricks are Daniel Robertson London Roman,
a 50mm-high brick that is extraordinarily
popular in Melbourne’s upmarket suburbs such
as Toorak. In this project they are laid with a
charcoal tinted mortar and raked joints.“Paul
Golding from All Things Brick Block & Stone is a
quality tradesman,” Dema commends.“We use
him on most of our jobs.”
Aside from solar orientation, the building
incorporates a wide range of design features
and technologies to ensure excellence in
environmental performance.Windows are
double glazed and the building’s narrow plan
form encourages cross-flow ventilation.The
brickwork, floor slab and hard flooring provide a
high level of thermal mass which is also
capitalised upon by the gas-fired hydronic
heating system.And, of course, face brickwork is
an enduring, low maintenance material that
doesn’t require finishing to preserve its
appearance or performance.
Jackson Clements Burrows can take pride in
having created a contemporary classic – in
terms of both its design and performance – that
will enhance the streetscape of this heritage
suburb and the lives of its occupants.
