O
wenArchitecture’sCampHillCottagerespondswithskill
and invention to the adaption of a postwar cottage,
abstracting formal, material and organizational logic from
the original. The new addition is expressed, not as a frag-
mentorextrusionbutrather,asadetached,hipped-roofwhole.Its
groundingonaBrisbanehillsideinvitesthelandscapetocontribute
totheexperienceofthearchitecture,andforasubtropicalclimate
andsuburbancontexttobegenuinelyembraced.
The contemporary pavilion rejects the overwhelming response
byneighbourstoextendintothebackyardatalevelflushwiththe
raisedcottagefloor.Instead,astaircaseisintroducedtomanagethe
gentleclamberfromoldtonew.Thistransitionregistersunderfoot
wherestraightedgesoftimbertreadsbecomethefluidcurvesof
concrete steps. As the man-made concrete terrain descends into the
landscape,thelawnswellstomeetwindowsillandgrassedfringes
engulf the back steps.
Belowthepitchedcanopyofthenewpavilionroof,thefour-part
plan arranges centrifugally. Interior rooms – kitchen and living – are
positioned diagonally opposite and in-between outdoor areas, the
courtyard and garden room. A central joinery unit visually separates
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the kitchen from the living area, however, the onus falls on the
ceiling volume to define enclosure in the absence of walls. The visual
and physical presence of the garden combined with the dramatic
pitch of the ceiling reinforces the ephemeral, tent-like qualities of
the pavilion.
The largest of the four rooms, dedicated to the kitchen, is the
heart of the home and genesis of the project. For clients Dom and
Katrina, the limitations of their original eighty-eight-square-metre
postwar cottage was most acutely felt in its inability to allow large
groups to gather in the kitchen, collectively prepare food and share
meals around a communal table. Outdoors parties were regularly
held, but these were at the whim of the weather. The new kitchen,
obviously waterproof and generous in footprint, cleverly addresses
those limitations, enabling many more scenarios for gathering
without being prescriptive about use.
Highly functional and flexible, the kitchen is also undeniably
attractive and user-friendly. It invites those who are not cooks to
linger, and for the chaotic nature of food preparation to dissolve
into something leisurely. The calmness of this space is due in part
to the material palette and visual composition, both of which are