Kerferd

Albert Park, Australia

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Kerferd

Albert Park, Australia

Firm

Whiting Architects

Type

Residential › Private House

STATUS

Built

YEAR

2013

SIZE

1000 sqft - 3000 sqft

Photos

Sharyn Cairns (10)

A child’s drawing of a house is typically rectangular in shape with a pitched roof and high windows, featuring primary forms and simple geometry.

This project draws inspiration from this concept and aims to create something that “feels right” through a subliminal, intuitive interpretation of subconsciously familiar architectural elements. Thus the project uses a corrugated iron roof, a gable-ended pitched roof, square high windows, and the primary geometry consists of a triangle, rectangle, and square extrapolated into 3D objects stacked about the house like giant crates.

These are not features belonging particularly to any single suburb — but are common where almost everyone lives. Despite this ubiquity, these elements were brought together in an unusually refined and beautiful composition. The house helps us to recognize the dignity of a style of building which is regarded as humble only because it has not until now been attended to properly. This points to some of what there is to be proud of in the suburbs, in a realistic and practical way.

The interior is as profound as the exterior. External and internal “box-forms” exist as ordering devices, defining specific areas and usage, and breaking down the facade. They support kitchen appliances, house clothing, conceal walls and services, and work to provide a unified theme binding interior to exterior. Internal joinery “elements” and walls are presented as “objects,” centering on the idea that these elements appear as if they can be slid out, taking them with you when you go. This duality of the permanence of this urban environment and the transient nature of modern living is interesting.

The user is encouraged to “curate” the space that is created in a sort of “personal museum.” A “process of operation” is facilitated to help the user program the way they live. In this context, it becomes a very natural process, like nesting. It is all about the interior interaction and not the facade; the interior is the area that makes an impact while the architectural envelope is matter-of-fact.