Houses Australia – August 2019

94 CO-AP

TinaEngelenhasbeena prominentdesignfigureinSydney
formostofherlife.HerfamilyfoundedtheDanishDesign
Centre(Dedece)inSydneyin1978.Shegrewupimmersedin
Scandinaviandesigncultureandremains,alongwithhertwo
brothers,a directorofDedece.Afterstudyinginteriordesign
atSydneyCollegeoftheArts,TinajoinedHerbertYpma’s
highlyinfluentialInteriorDesignmagazineasa featureeditor
andhelpedchronicleAustralia’sburgeoninglocaldesign
sceneinthe1980sand‘90s.SheformedDaffodilwith
designersMarcNewsonandDannyVenlet,a practicethat,
thoughshort-lived,createdsuchlandmarkprojectsasthe
BurdekinBaratthebottomofSydney’sOxfordStreet– their
interiorfortheprojectlongsince,andsadly,demolished.
By1995,Tinahadco-foundedEngelenMoorewith
architectIanMooreandwashelpingtodefinea neweraof
Sydneyliving.Theirlayeredapproachtointeriorspairedwith
rationalarchitecturestruckjusttherightbalance,earning
thepracticeawardsandpresscoveragearoundtheworld.
AnapartmentdesignedbyEngelenMoorebecamea highly
desirablecommodity,fosteringa localmarketfordesign-
drivenresidentialdevelopments.Thefirmlastedalmosta
decadebeforethepartnerssplit.“Itwasverymucha brand
andwhenyou’vegotyournameonthebrandyoutakeit
muchmoreseriously,”TinasaysofEngelenMoore.
“Ifeltverystronglythatit wasrepresentingmeasa human.
So,it wasjustthisfantasticrelieftofinallygointoa quiet
littlebubbleandapproachprojectsquitedifferently.”
ThebubbleshereferstoisCO-APArchitects,
a smallpracticeco-foundedin 2005 byCharlesMarkell
andWillFung(whoisalsoanEngelenMoorealumnus),
atwhichTinaisa nowa principal.Will,whostudied
architectureatUNSWSydney,workedwithTinainthe
earliestdaysofEngelenMoorebeforeheadingtothe
Netherlands to spend almost two years working with Wiel

AretsArchitects.HehadthenreturnedtoSydney,and

EngelenMoore,butbeforelongsetuphisownpractice

ina smallstudioinSurryHills.

Havingdevelopeda friendshipanda collaborative

workingrelationship,WillandTinabegantoworkon

projectstogetherpostEngelenMoore.“Ineedcollaboration,”

Tinaexplains.“I’mnota one-womanbandandI suppose,

becauseI’ma designerwholovesarchitecture,I liketowork

witharchitects.”

InCO-AP,thepairsawanopportunitytostart

afreshandtoworkina differentway– morequietlyand

againsttheideaofarchitectureasa brand.EngelenMoore

borea strongsignature,“akindofdogma,”saysWill.“We

haveanarchitecturalapproachthatleadstoanaesthetic.”

WillandTinafocusedonthebriefandsatisfyingthe

particularneedsofeachclient.Theylettheworkspeakfor

itself.Publishingwasn’ta priorityforthepair.“Therewas

nourgency,”Willsays.“Weweremullingaway,gestating,

findingoutwhowewere.”

It wasseveralyearsbeforeoneoftheirprojects

receivedattention– a houseintheinner-westernSydney

suburbofAnnandale,withanexceptionallylongandnarrow

site.Inthatscheme,a two-levelVictorianterraceatthe

frontofthepropertyiskeptintact,whilebeyondit,a new

extensionisquiteunliketheSydneyterracehouserenovation

onemightexpect.A longlineofenclosurezigzagsdownthe

lengthofthesite,creatingtriangulatedinteriorspacesand

pocketsofgardenagainstthebackdropofa six-metre-high

neighbouringwall.

TheunexpectedangulargeometryofAnnandale

House(2011)createsdynamic,fluidspaces,bothinsideand

out.Thereareexpandedpointsinthecorridorforkidsto

playin,forinstance,ortoaccommodatea sofaordining

table, all the while plenty of service and circulation space is

Annandale House ground floor 1 : 400

Annandale House first floor 1 : 400

0 5 m

1 Entry

2 Sitting

3 Loggia

4 Living

5 Kitchen

6 Dining

7 Courtyard/

Dining

8 Laundry

9 Study

10 Bedroom

11 Porch

12 Robe

2 1

3

4

5

6

7

7

8

(^91011)
10
10
(^1012)