Architecture; House design.

Transcription

1 Document title: House at 2a Burns Road, Wahroonga (Sydney), Author/s: Summary / abstract: Ross Thorne, architect; Alan McKenzie, structural engineer; Chris Van Der Veer, builder. Due to age my parents decided to buy a block of land within walking distance of shops and commuter rail. The lot had been subdivided from a much larger property; it contained a huge cork elm deciduous tree, and a bank of trees lining a small creek along the western boundary. The house was designed to skirt between the trees. In their previous (St Ives) house they liked highlight windows -- seeing treetops in distance -- courtyards and privacy. Now, they also wanted no exterior maintenance, neither flat roof nor eave gutters on which leaves would collect. The house was conceived basically as a cross with entry from the south(the street front), my father s suite to the west, my mother s to the east, living room directly ahead (north) with a service core of kitchen, plant room and laundry at the intersection of the arms of the cross. The plant room contained an air conditioning unit that supplied ducted air to all livable rooms. Carport and entrance (via a screen fence) were adjacent. A verandah-type walk-way passed beside the carport to the entrance door, with tiled flooring extending into the lobby off which was the suite of small bathroom, bedroom and study for my father. Progressing northwards beyond a full-width translucent glass sliding door the floor-covering changed to carpet with a dropped ceiling which rose again as one entered the living room. An outlook was had to the trees beyond but, on turning right, the outlook became more expansive with the trunk of the huge elm tree in the foreground Key words: Illustrations: Publications Copyright owner: Architecture; House design. Black and White photos by Wes Stacey; Colour photos by Ross Thorne. Construction Review, August 1970; Architecture in Australia, February 1971 Ross Thorne Copyright is waived upon death of the owner with exception of acknowledgemnt of the design and colour photographs

2 The site was one quarter of a larger holding. The (new) rear boundary was a little behind the deciduous elm tree, right of centre of the picture. A surveyor not only marked the levels of the ground but positioned the elm and the major bank of trees to the left, and a minor bank of bushes to the right and front. The house was designed to minimise removal of any of the banks of trees and undergrowth. Slight excavation was required on the eastern (right) side. This late winter view shows the elm tree just left of centre. The foundation was piered down to a stable sub-soil, with integral beams and raft floor in reinforced concrete. This late spring view shows the thickness of the western and northern foliage. It also shows where the principal accommodation is situated, excluding the entry-way and carport. The olive coloured cement brick walls have the off-site-constructed window and door frames built in. The walls immediately in front of the camera are of the laundry and main bathroom, facing into a service court that is interposed between the principal accommodation and the carport.

3 The entrance driveway came in to the site towards the west of the front boundary so as not to disturb a low bank of undergrowth. The roof tiles were brown-finished cement, while the timber was redwood or western red cedar. The adjacent house (visible at the right) is the house occupying the original acre site, and which was demolished together with this house to make way for a developer s seniors retirement settlement in about This detail view shows the screen fence that was in line with the front of the carport. Under the hip line of the roof is the gate into the buffer zone space or court, with the path leading to the front door that is beneath the triangular window at left of picture. The only roof gutter is along the edge of the carport roof so that people waiting at the gate do not get a drenching.

4 Above: The partial court beyond the screen fence (seen on the previous photo) the end of which can be seen at right. The block of building is my father s suite adjacent to the entry that is accessed along the narrow verandah (in deep shade). The view is from the upper left of the plan (below).

5 Right: The entry court with screen fence, as seen from inside the front door. Lower Right: The change of level and the change of roof pitch from along the access verandah down the steps to the wider entrance and into the lobby, provide a visual complexity and, at the same time, an enlargement of the space. The tiled floor from outside to within gives the space a feeling of continuity. Below: From further within the house can be seen the wall to the carport at the side of the entry verandah. It repeats the motif of the court screen fence. Immediately to its left is the door to the carport. The changed roof pitch allows a triangular window to light the lobby.

6 Right: Walking along the axial passage from the lobby, the ceiling has become low; deep, closely spaced window mullions to the left, hide a view towards the creek almost until the viewer is upon the window. The low ceiling partially hides the different ceiling type and height to the living room ahead. The kitchen is to the right (where the telephone handset can be seen). Right: The kitchen is a galley style with stove, deepfreezer, and refrigerator at right. All cupboards and the exhaust hood over the stove are finished in Blackbutt veneer. Bench tops, sink and drainer are integrally made in stainless steel. The work-top at left, and the cupboards above open through to the dining end of the living room. The dining side of this unit is seen to the left of the photo below. The same glazed brown tiles are used in the entry, kitchen and north-facing verandah. The same olive coloured, face cement brickwork is used in every room except bathrooms.

7 Above: High so-called cathedral ceilings that follow the pitch of the roof can at times make the space appear too vast. Although simple steel beams could have adequately spanned the living room, the trusses were decided upon to partially provide a lower feel to the space, and greater compexity and intimacy to it. Below is the reverse view along the low height of the corridor to the entry lobby and beyond.

8 Partially in front of the kitchen and along in front of the main bedroom quarters is the northfacing verandah that is fully insect screened. The pitch of the living room ceiling is continued at right angles along the verandah. The mitre of the junction at the change of direction can be seen top right of the photo. The glass above the head of the sliding door onto the verandah is frameless and fits into a small groove in the ceiling. This lack of framing accentuates the visual flow of the space from one room to another. Below: The north-facing verandah, above which are the highlight windows that provide additional light to the main bedroom quarters and kitchen. The living room wing is at the right of the photograph. The large old elm tree remains a centre-piece to the simple garden.

9 Above: The pitched roof forms of the house are intricate, changing in the angle of pitch in order to achieve clean intersections. In the design stage a working model was made so that the plan could be slightly modified to achieve the roof intersections claenly but with, at times, different angles of pitch. The above view shows the carport at left, then at right angles, the entry and father s suite,; in the foreground, the end to the main bedroom quarters/kitchen wing, and to the right, the north-facing verandah and living room wing. Right: The ceiling to the main bedroom, normally the master bedroom, was high, expressing the slope of the roof that achieved the highlight windows above the verandah ceiling (at right). Again, to reduce the effect of an overpowering vacant space, I had Sue Britten and Nino Bellantonio design a large box chandelier that provided a horizontal element that gives the effect of partially bringing the ceiling down to a more human level. It also provides a richness to the space.

10 Left: The principal bathroom was designed as a white cocoon. all corners between ceiling to walls, walls to floor and from wall to wall are in a radius curve -- all sprayed with a vinyl plastic. Only the floor is tiled in small glazed white tiles, set back from the coving to the walls. The full height windows, beyond the vanity bench, overlook the private service courtyard with its paving and pot plants. Below: The living room after my mother died in My father did not like my mother s or my taste in paintings, so wished to put his stamp on the room by the purchase of a new painting in colours that he found calming. Unfortunately for him he was diagnosed with secondary (bone) cancer from prostate cancer. Treatment slowed the condition until Spring The house was sold soon after. There are four people who should be credited for individual aspects from the design stage to the completion of the house. First, there is Maurice Brown who was my architectural assistant for the drawings. I decided to attempt an experiment with the drawings, following a suggested method developed in Sweden. Rather than produce drawings that incorporated all information for most of the building trades, this experimental method produced one drawing for each trade only. It meant rethinking how documentation had to be done. Second, there is the builder, Christopher Van Der Veer, who loved a challenge and coped with the drawings and the design. Third, there are Sue Britten and Nino Bellantonio who designed and made all the curtains and bedspreads. In the illustration below their silk screened design for the living room, can be seen on the curtains and bench-seat cover at left.