09
room are a departure from the architect’s
usual white interiors, but function as an
effective backdrop to the current owners’
collection of furniture and objects. Along
the outside of the living/dining room
balcony, a low cedar wall was replaced with
steel cables and upright posts, dramatically
opening up the views.
While the back of the house opens to
the expansive vista, the front is enclosed,
with an intimate courtyard garden
surrounded by white walls and the brush
fence. Echoing the larger typology of the
house, the courtyard floor is a series of
stepped platforms. Each of the two modestly
sized bedrooms has floor-to-ceiling windows
onto the courtyard, shaded in summer and
warmed by the sun in winter when the
deciduous trees drop their leaves.
Taglietti advised the current owners
on their single structural intervention,
adapting the original garage for an artist’s
studio. The conversion including replacing
the garage door with a series of glass doors
and windows. They employed sympathetic
joinery and carefully crafted details, suchthat the only clue to the garage’s initial
purpose is the driveway. Here Judi spends
much of each day, creating large fused-
glass panels, bowls and objects. She has
often observed that living in this Taglietti
house has influenced the architectural
qualities of her widely exhibited work
in glass.
When asked what they most
enjoy about living in this house, Judi
immediately replies, “The privacy.”
Although the neighbouring houses are
in close physical proximity, Taglietti’s
solid perimeter walls provide exceptional
visual and acoustic separation. The effect
is of living in almost solitary suspension
on the hillside overlooking Tuggeranong
Valley, with the nearest visible roofs some
distance below. Owners of Taglietti houses
understandably become very attached
to their homes. Minor adaptations,
such as the insertion of additional stair
rails, allow them to manage changing
conditions over time. As Judi and Robert
observed, “Why would we ever want to
leave this house?”09 The house commands
sweeping views over the
Tuggeranong Valley and
Brindabella mountain range.Architect
Enrico Taglietti
and AssociatesArchitect profile
Enrico Taglietti is a Milan-
trained architect who set up
his practice in Canberra in- His firm has had a long
commitment to domestic
architecture and has also
built many public buildings
including schools, churches
and major commercial
buildings. He was the 2007
Australian Institute of
Architects Gold Medallist.
Builder managing
subcontractors
Zarco MijuscovicEngineer
K. Sellick