2013 - 2016

Status | Completed

Wall House I is an ongoing experiment. Deceptively simple in plan, this house is continually evolving in detail, finishes, colour and landscape. This project for the architect’s own family transformed a tiny one bedroom cottage into a house for four. It is situated in inner Sydney adjacent to a rail corridor. The house is Janus-faced: to the street it presents the comfortable façade of a nineteenth century workers’ cottage, part of a row of three identical houses. To the train line, however it is a bright but enigmatic presence, silently watching the commuters flow to and from the city. This two-faced nature is realised further in the interior organisation of the house. The ground floor is turned inwards, restricting views to just the courtyard and garden. Plywood sheet and hardwood detailing are used to accentuate this relationship to the landscape. The upper floor is focused outwards, a strip window emphasising the horizontality of the view of the train line. In this room the walls are white and a window seat provides a space for viewing and contemplation.

Builder | ARC Projects

Structural Engineer | SDA Structures

Photographs | Nathan Etherington