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design
mag
Redefining boundaries
The insular “hot boxes” common to estates are
not the fault of builders and property owners.
Covenant writers — those charged with
maintaining the consistency of the estate —
prescribe minimum total floor area, garage
space, façade materials, and roof pitch.
The result? Large structures with consistent roofs,
left-over strips of landscape and entryways
wedged in beside double-car garages.This is
uniformity at the cost of people and place.
But imagining between the lines of a building
covenant presents another opportunity: that of
the covenant as palette only. From this, spaces
and materials can be put together in ways that
optimise places for the people who use them.
The ins and outs
Redefining the concept of place is crucial if we
are to create shelters that exploit both the local
climate and the benefits that community living
conveys.
At the Bisley Place House, the outdoors and the
indoors cease to be separate.The envelope is
robust and permanent, with adaptable glazing,
walls and landscape. Structural face brickwork
and concrete make up the dwelling’s outer
sleeve.These are materials that are inherently
strong, self-finished, and can withstand diverse
and exceptional weather conditions.
The inhabitant is therefore able to create and
recreate their own space by manipulating skins
– doors, windows and curtains – to alternate
between internal and external use.
Four large screen doors provide a veil to the
street and admit gentle breezes as they build
throughout the day.With a push of a button,
these doors tilt open to provide shade and
threshold, and create an opportunity to initiate
conversation with the street. Curtains are drawn
to enclose space or redefine a threshold.
Incorporating the outdoors into the indoor living
spaces and establishing circulation throughout
the entire site allows the dwelling to breathe
and to merge seamlessly with its environment.
The house becomes a series of spaces along
a passage, a journey that encourages
relationships between people and their shared
landscape.