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LOCATION : BALWYN, VICTORIA
STATUS : SCHEMATIC DESIGN
A previously subdivided townhouse unit was stipulated for this residential plot. The clients are keen to depart from the former scheme and experiment with a more contemporary form.
The original building footprint is retained, as is the existing shared party wall with the neighbour. In a simple gesture, layers of the building’s ‘outer skin’ are unfolded and peeled away to reveal the building’s under layer through the contrasting use of warm and cool exterior finishes (hard-timber cladding and off-white render respectively).
The overall purity of the building form is maintained. Not unlike origami, windows and skylights are formed by the playful unfolding of surfaces. These ‘folds’ double as sun-shading devices and over-looking screens. The gesture of unfolding fenestrations where needed allows for light to flood the deeper recesses of the house despite its long and narrow configuration.
The design simplicity belies the sustainable passive heating/cooling systems the house is built around. The application of a double-height void, raked ceilings and an openable skylight offers wonderful cross-ventilation throughout.
LOCATION : BALWYN, VICTORIA
STATUS : SCHEMATIC DESIGN
A previously subdivided townhouse unit was stipulated for this residential plot. The clients are keen to depart from the former scheme and experiment with a more contemporary form.
The original building footprint is retained, as is the existing shared party wall with the neighbour. In a simple gesture, layers of the building’s ‘outer skin’ are unfolded and peeled away to reveal the building’s under layer through the contrasting use of warm and cool exterior finishes (hard-timber cladding and off-white render respectively).
The overall purity of the building form is maintained. Not unlike origami, windows and skylights are formed by the playful unfolding of surfaces. These ‘folds’ double as sun-shading devices and over-looking screens. The gesture of unfolding fenestrations where needed allows for light to flood the deeper recesses of the house despite its long and narrow configuration.
The design simplicity belies the sustainable passive heating/cooling systems the house is built around. The application of a double-height void, raked ceilings and an openable skylight offers wonderful cross-ventilation throughout.
© 2023 Copyright Weian Lim Architects (WALA)