outlook to the rear courtyard while ensuring
complete privacy from a dominating
apartment block to the south and a three-
storey hotel at the rear. The roof overhang
shelters and shades the glass facade to
the east. The unusual internal spaces that
result from the roof form are emphasized
with tessellated plywood panelling and
translucent materials.
“The first-floor bedroom and study space
is my favourite part of the house,” says Jo.
“The angled ceiling and wall planes are
treated as a single form and the tessellated
ply panels accentuate the form. While the
bedroom is spacious, it gives a feeling of
being in a treehouse or cubbyhouse, which
is unexpected.”
The simple striped pattern of the
corrugated folded roof is a reference to
local Victorian terraces that feature striped
corrugated iron roofs on their front
verandahs – a character that is very much
Melbourne, Australia. The striped roof
establishes a dialogue between contemporary
and traditional architecture. This dialogue03 04
is reflected in the interiors, where raw
materials including concrete, steel and
timber are blended with more traditional
elements such as stained glass and Turkish
tiles. The design is contemporary but
simultaneously creates an ambiance of
warmth and intimacy.
Having a baby and making a building
at the same time doesn’t give you much
time to ponder, so it was a wonderful
reward to have super-appreciative clients
and to be acknowledged by the profession
with an award from the Victorian chapter
of the Australian Institute of Architects.
The Eyelid House helped me to understand
what my work is about. Winning an award
gave me confidence to continue to run my
own practice and helped me gain exposure
to attract new clients.
The work is conceptual and site-
sensitive, but the architectural language is
essentially romantic and expressive. I am
particularly interested in creating spaces
that vary in scale, have a fluid quality and
make subtle suggestions about how to usethe space. The appearance of the space has
a looseness about it, but the way people use
the space is being quite subtly manipulated.
While I haven’t really focused on the
origins of my design approach, I can see
that similar qualities can be found in
Australian architecture from the late 1960s
and early 70s. The approach is to create
relaxed, sociable and comfortable living
environments. Over time, a preoccupation
with fluidity of space and with creating
environments of social intimacy has become
very apparent in my work. This is largely in
response to working with dark, poky or very
cellular older-style buildings, such as the
existing dwelling I worked with on this
first project.
More than ten years on, Jo, Shaun,
Max and the twins, Nina and Imogen, still
love living in the Eyelid House, around the
corner from Carol. We stay in touch and
they always have a million stories to share.
As an architect, knowing that your clients
love their home and thrive in it is what
keeps you going.