1A

A house is an environmental filter; a house is a container of human activities; and a house is a delightful experience. With this in mind, here are the three exemplar houses I chose from the list, a bit about each and what interested me about each initially:

33rd Lane, Geoffrey Bawa.






IMAGES: David Robson (http://www.archnet.org/library/images)

33rd Lane, also called The Bawa Residence “is an introspective labyrinth of rooms and garden courts which together create the illusion of limitless space. Words like inside and outside lose all meaning: here are rooms without roofs and roofs without walls, all connected by a complex matrix of axes and internal vistas.” (Geoffrey Bawa Trust, 2010)
I was intrigued initially by the beauty and simplicity of this design, the rustic textures and organic colours and also by the delightful complexity of the plans. The house is very private, situated at the end of a cul-de-sac and is surrounded by dense vegetation. He has incorporated the house’s surroundings into the design to achieve a living experience which is both delightful and comfortable. Geoffrey Bawa does not distinguish between exterior and interior but strives to bring these together into a single, homogeneous whole. Landscape and architecture are one. (Neville Weereratne. n.d.)He believes that outside and inside are indivisible, that architecture involves a dialogue between the interior and the landscape. Bawa often looked to the past for answers where indigenous architectural elements and vernacular architecture are often apparent in his work. (Geoffrey Bawa Trust. 2010) "His architecture is a subtle blend of modernity and tradition, East and West, formal and picturesque; he has broken down the artificial segregation of inside and outside, building and landscape; he has drawn on tradition to create an architecture that is fitting to its place, and he has also used his vast knowledge of the modern world to create an architecture that is of its time" (Robson, D. 2002).

Taringa House and Studio, Rex Addison.








IMAGES: Rex Addison (http://www.rexaddison.com.au/buildings/taringa_house_and_studio.php)

I chose the Taringa House because I think that it contemporises the South-East Queensland style and harnesses the conditions in a sub-tropical environment. Upon further research I found that the Taringa house had to undergo extensive testing during the design development and was a direct response to a number of difficult planning constraints on the approximately 500 metre squared allotment. The “architectural expression is modestly maintained and read as a direct account of the thinking behind the making” (Neale, D. 2010). I researched his design approach and his methods of overcoming the constraints and finding a solution so that i may employ some of these when faced with similar restrictions. “ The design not only accommodates setback and town planning regulations, it also avoids existing underground stormwater pipes and overland gully flow, preserves existing mature trees and provides privacy for the new and adjacent residents” (Neale, D. 2010). The house is secluded from its neighbours and finds its own place in the gully, in which it is situated - a complex site geometry to work with. His work has an element of familiarity due to his regard for the ‘dignified’ appropriateness of the local vernacular. This community of pavilions share geometry and materials in common. The roofs are carefully manipulated variants on the traditional forms and the interior of the main house on several levels opens up to the surrounding vegetation or sky (Architecture Australia. 2001). “Interiors are characterised by slatted and fretwork ceiling light/vents, with sashless double-hung windows and sliding doors. Translucent lower roof skirts admit more light” (Skinner, P. 2010). The house was designed to embellish the daily lives of the occupants and shelter his family’s rituals and pleasures. The marvellous bush pavilion accompanies his studio which is connected by a gully bridge – an integration which enriches both the experience of occupants and the garden. Celebrating everyday life under folding, flowing roofs, Rex Addison’s Taringa House demonstrates the ongoing evolution of long term- themes and strategies. (Neale, D. 2010)

Lambert House, Russell Hall.








IMAGES: The Royal Australian Institute of Architects. 1990.
DRAWINGS: Russell Hall

The Lambert house, aka the “Rapunzel House” is an expression of the architects’ sister, for whom it was built for. The prospect of living in a tower appealed to the client and her only request was that she would like it and that it met her needs. The house is a five-storey, single skin, gang-nailed wall frame structure. Shading devices were installed to improve the climatic performance of the house and to reduce the need for maintenance. The plan is a dodecahedron – a shape chosen for its useful divisibility and allows for more architecturally useful junctions than the ones normally associated with hexagons. “By being five floors tall and one room deep with its broad side to the north, the house allows plentiful cross ventilation and winter sun penetration. A one room depth helps to overcome the problems of a site which has a view to the south. The contrat between north and south aspects is further exaggerated by the characters of the views. The north and east views are over a well-treed reserve which provides an impression of living in the scrub. The southern view is over the city centre and surrounding suburbs” (Royal Australian Institute of Architects. 1990). The interior consists of voids and staircases that emphasise the verticality of the house and also produce updrafts for hot air which are extracted by a turbine vent on top of the loft. “Coloured glass has been installed in sections of the doors for subliminal psychic food” (Royal Australian Institute of Architects. 1990). Fluid-filled prisms atop the loft filter in sunlight with refractive and reflective qualities and these project the spectra onto the internal walls of the house and outwards across the suburbs. “The house attempts to enrich the experience of its occupants by way of allegory through balustrading, leadlights and coloured glass” (Royal Australian Institute of Architects. 1990). I was intrigued by the tower design of the house and was interested in its efficiency as well as the exterior slanting pattern of the shading devices and sun filterers.

TEXT REFERENCES:

Architecture Australia. 2001. A Short History of Brisbane Architecture. Pesaro Press, Sydney: 10, 110

Geoffrey Bawa Trust. 2010. Geoffrey Bawa. http://www.geoffreybawa.com/NUMBER_11/Introduction.html (Date accessed: April 28, 2010)

Neale, D. 2010. Archetypal Addison. http://www.archmedia.com.au/aa/aaissue.php?issueid=200505&article=11&typeon=2 (Date accessed: April 28, 2010)

Robson, D. 2002. Geoffrey Bawa: The Complete Works. London: Thames and Hudson

Royal Australian Institute of Architects. 1990. Australian architects : Rex Addison, Lindsay Clare & Russell Hall. Manuka, A.C.T : Education Division. (Date accessed: April 27, 2010)

Skinner, P. 2010. Jungle Rhythms. http://www.archmedia.com.au/aa/aaissue.php?article=8&issueid=199907&typeon=2 (Date accessed: April 28, 2010)

Weereratne, N. n.d. The complete Geoffrey Bawa. http://www.infolanka.com/org/srilanka/people/88.htm (Date accessed: March 1, 2010)