After the initial client had sold the site to present owners who continued with the same project team, and a modified brief, necessitating a return to local council, this project became a 9-year labour of love.
Over this period, there was extensive remodelling of the existing 70’s modernist house by Gergely and Pinter Architects.
The client’s emotional brief reflects a beguiling and memorable experience based on their well-travelled and eccentric sensibilities. This was translated through the lens of Mediterranean and Asian resort living which provided the conceptual platform for the design. It was a treat to be able to take advantage of the different elements involved with both Mediterranean and Asian resort living influences to create a cohesive palette throughout the house, and to the outdoor area as well.
Whilst accommodating the clients brief and the necessities of a young family, the utmost care and detail was taken with each element.
The home incorporates five-bedroom suites, each with bathroom and walk-in robe, a self-contained studio, an office, and vast living spaces. They are open to the north via upper-level skylights and through a terrace that links a spindly cabana, a large pool with a 20m glass-bottomed pond feature, and a Peter Fudge designed garden, around a century old Norfolk Island Pine tree.
A rich and complex kitchen experience opens up to the exotic and viridian coloured pool environment and the sculpture setting beyond.
Guided by the architectural brief, the design sought to blur edges, provide delicate detailing invoking the P&O style, and create a spatial flow between interior and exterior by using simple and sophisticated geometries with minimal detailing.
Hidden from the street frontage, access to the battle axe site is permitted through a well-landscaped avenue acting as a prelude to the design. The site offered direct north-western views to the Sydney Harbour Bridge which was utilised as a driver for internal programming.
Some of the manufacturers used were; Minotti, Giorgetti, B&B Italia, Hudson, Lindsay Adelman, David Weeks, Longhi, Koket, Brabbu, Boca de Lobo, Restoration Hardware and Tibet Sydney Rugs.
It has truly been a pleasure to watch the finished product take shape, and we are thrilled that the clients have now moved in and can make the house their home.