112 SEED HOUSE
Adding to the architectural legacy
of a salubrious Sydney suburb, this
home for the architect’s own family
is a volumetric study that celebrates
the inherent qualities of timber.
WordsbyTimGreer
Photography by John Gollings
Thereissomethingexcitingaboutarchitectsdesigning
theirownhousesandunsettlingtheestablished
triumvirateofvisionaryclient,inspiredarchitectand
accomplishedbuilder.Andwherebettertopractise
thisrareformofarchitecturethanCastlecrag,onthe
lowerNorthShoreofSydney.OncehometoWalter
BurleyandMarionMahonyGriffin,whodesigned
theirownhousethereafterplanningtheentiresuburb,
Castlecraganditsenvironshashosteda rollcallof
adventuroushouse-buildingarchitects– thereare
housesdesignedbyHughBuhrich,PaulFrischknecht,
DonaldMaclurcan,andBillandRuthLucas,tonamea
few,anda GordonM.Jenkinshousethatisundergoing
a renovationbyPeterTonkinandEllenWoolley.
TheSeedHouse,fashionedbyJames
Fitzpatrickforhisfamily,isthelatestadditionto
theCastlecragarchitecturallegacy.Thehousehas
evolvedovertheeightyearsthattheFitzpatrickclan
hasinhabitedthesite,sothatit isatoncea volumetric
masterpieceandthefamily’sperfectfit.Designwas
followedbytwo-and-a-half years of meticulous
construction.
Theprojectevokesbeauty,warmthand
richnessthroughthecraftingoftimber.Ittakes
itsplacealongsidea numberofrecenttechnically
advancedbuildingstomakeuseofCLT(cross-
laminated timber), demonstrating the material’s
potentialforAustralianresidentialarchitecture.
CLThasbeenusedforthestructureofa seriesof
interconnected,cantileveredformsthatmakeupthe
house.Insidethetimberstructuralshells,thereisan
exoticarrayofTasmaniantimbers– celerytoppine,
Huonpineandblackwood– sourcedandcollected
overmorethana decade,eachmarkingoutdifferent
areasanduses.James’sTasmanianrootsarereflected
in theselectionoftimbersandinhisskillindetailing.
Thesetimbersalreadyhaverichassociations
fortheFitzpatricksandareimbuedwithstoriesof
searchingforandfindingthem,aspartofthelong-
termplanforthehouse.Definingthebedroomson
thesecondstorey,thecelerytoppinewasan
unintendedbyproductoftheTasmanianhydro-
electricityscheme.Wholetreesfoundinlakebeds
thathadbeenfloodeddecadesagowereextracted
andlefttodryoutfortwoyears.Therarerblackwood
inthekitchenjoinerywassimilarlyfoundintrees
languishinginthefloodedlake.Theirsalewascondi-
tionaluponthevendor’sapprovalthattheprecious
timberwasbeingusedinlargepiecesforprominent
andvaluableelements,andnotmilleddowninto
strips.TheHuonpine,usedmainlyasjoinerytrim,
wascollectedovermultiplefamilyvisitstoTasmania,
theshapeofeachpieceinfluencing the shape of the
finished joinery element.
01 Thewarmthand
richnessofcrafted
timberarecelebrated
atSeedHouse,
designedbyarchitect
JamesFitzpatrick
for his own family.
