/ I

I

03

01 From the street the house seems to de· materialise, defined only by two horizontal planes. 02 The unfilled travertine stone flooring by Deemah Stone creates a seamless flow between inside and outside of the house.

03 The v iew from the front terrace out towards Cottesloe Beach.

Cottesloe was originaUy created as a summer holiday location for well-heeled Perth residents to escape the heat. As the city grew to encompass it, it became increasingly suburbanised. Its wide streets, characterised by the columns of tall Norfolk Island pines, still contain some restored turn-of-the-century beach residences. However, as its desirability has increased, there are more 'McMansions' being built, often incorporating coastal 'features' such as limestone walls and rammed earth at their entries.

To a greater extent, Perth architects are making their presence felt up and down the Cottesloe beachfront. Here, and in the immediate neighbourhood, there are more and more well-considered modernist incursions into a suburban domain.

For architect, Philip Vivian of Bates Smart, a quiet street lined with the aged Norfolk Island pines, with an open view down to the Indian Ocean, and a stone's throw from the beach, makes this location one of the most desired beachside settings in Perth. Working in collaboration with architect Madeleine Blanchfield and his Bates Smart design team, Vivian's design solution for his parents' retirement home in a street of romantic cottages from a by-gone era can't be missed.

On approach, one is struck by a simple yet impressive modernist composition. From the street, it appears as a glass box set delicately on a stone base (which conceals the garage) with

... there are more and more well-considered

modernist incursions into a suburban domain.

169

habitus 10

• scenario cottesloe - WA, australia

1 Entry

2 Garden

3 Kitchen

4 Dining

5 Living

6 Courtyard

7 Pond

8 Master

Bedroom

9 Ensuite

10 Laundry

04

04 Ground floor plan. 05 The random-patterned limestone wall looking towards the street. Flos Lumascape external wall lights. 06 Living area. Akira lsogawa rug from Designer Rugs; Perth Council House armchairs by Howlen & Bailey Architects. a gift to the owners; Poul Kjcerholm PK61 coffee table; Jetmaster 1050 wide fireplace. 07 Looking across the linking courtyard to the master bedroom.

170

11

12

13 14

15

Guest

Bedroom

Study

Bathroom

Stairs

Lift

r I

u 0 3

4

a single plane of travert ine for the floor, glass walls and a flat roof wllicb seems to float above the rammed limestone walls. Mies' Barcelona Pavilion comes to mind- an image reinforced by the generously sized travertine Hoor finish that unites the inside and outside spaces.

"It is not a matter of style," says Philip Vivian. "One designs from the inside out... creating places for people to inhabi t."

Once in the house, the composition of volumes is easily grasped. Internal space is clearly ordered- an ornamental pond delineates the living, dining and kitchen from the bedrooms/study and bathroom wing to the north. The house embraces its surroundings. Various panoramic tableaux engage the viewer - the sunlit northern courtyard and pond with its random, dry-stacked limestone waH background, while to the south, panoramic views through to the street (with its Norfolk Island pines) and the ocean.

This is a small house with generous proportions - and generous openings connecting the relatively modest ly sized interior to the open space, street and landscape that surrounds it. In plan, it consists of two simple rectangles - the living pavilion on the south, and the private/sleeping pavilion on the north. The duality between the public (living) spaces and private (sleeping) spaces is the conceptual parti of the house. The public

PHILIP \1/VIAN

12

14

10 9

05

habitusliving.com

07

171

OB The pond outs1de the master bedroom facilitates na tu ral cooling 09 Bathroom fittings are Duravit from Rogerseller, Scala from Reece and Mad1noz from Style Fin1sh. 10 Look1ng west across the pond.

09 10

A restrained palette of local materials creates a calm and timeless f eel.

spaces are open plan and outwardly oriented - unenclosed spaces gathered under a floating Miesian roof that unites internal and external space. The private spaces on the north side of the block are inwardly focused and enclosed within thick masonry walls wbicb create a sense of privacy and retreat. The pond in the courtyard separates the two spatial types. emphasising their dua lity. and providing a cooling effect.

There is simplicity of line. pleasing proportions and scale, and elegantly resolved details such as the concealed picture rail tracks at the junction of the walls and cei ling. and the wrap around curtains which can be recessed behind the joinery when not in use.

·we have to acknowledge the builder. George Allingham. for his exceptional attention to detail;· says Vivian. Quite an achievement, as in Western Australia. builders committed to fine detai l are still few and far between. In this project. various innovations tested tbe builder's skills to deliver. For example, tbe fu ll­height screens and sliding timber doors that provide privacy and sun control to north-facing rooms were externally mounted on galvanised

steel angles. Only skilled labour could have delivered good quality outcomes in the use of these materials.

A restrained palelle of local materials creates a calm and timeless feel. The travertine floor is continued from the garden to the interior. Locally sourced limestone is used as a textured random-patterned garden wall. This material then becomes crushed stone constituting the rammed limestone walls of the house - all harmonising with the smooth uniform surface oftravertine floor and simple flat ceiling. As a relief to the rammed earth textured wall. the internal wal l surfaces are finished in polished plaster.

" It is a continuation of the tradition of the courtyard bouse," says Vivian. Hence, tbe two pavilions -living to the street. I he public space, simple parapet waH punctured by door openings, sleeping to the rear separated by a passage. private space, stair to garage and on the Jiving room/master bedroom (east) side by the pond, a garden- the whole of it over a rnere 300m~ site.

The articulation of indoor to outdoor spaces, the use of materials, and the positioning

173

habitus 10

• scenario cottesloe - WA, australia

,,

174

The courtyard pond reflects northern sunlight into the living room.

PH/UP VIVIAN

of openings are all set to respond to another program: energy conservation and climate comfort. Underfloor heating throughout retains creature comfort that is essential for people in retirement age, even in coastal Perrh where temperatures can drop to 0°C at night and 12·c in the day for a few weeks of the year. The courtyard pond reflects northern sunlight into the living room. Below ground water tanks recycle captured rainwater to the gardens and pond. Limestone as rubble garden wall or crushed in rammed house walls delivers low­embodied energy and retains thermal mass.

Lounge chairs by Perth architect, Don Bailey, reclaimed from the iconic 1960s Perth Council House, a Neil Burley sofa, and an A kira lsogawa rug emphasise the point - this is a home firm ly in the classical modernist realm, yet of a climate -responsive genre.

This house received the Marshall Clifton Award for Residential Architecwre at this year's lnsritllle of ArchitecTs Annual Awards 2010, Western Australian Chapter.

ARCHITECT

Bates Smart in collaboration

with Madeleine Blanchfield

Archilects

PROJECT TEAM

Philip Vivion (Projccl Direc10r).

Madeleine Blanchfield, Andrew

Colangelo. Damicn Modell

(Projecl Leaders), Dona

Tomic (lmerior Designer).

Sylvia Vasak, Paul Bickell,

Nikolay Pcchovski.

BUILDER

Gransdcn Conslnlclions.

Claremom

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER

Enslrucl Group. Sydney

M&E ENGINEER

B S Ong Engineering

LANDSCAPE DESIGNER

Anna Perry Garden Design

Bturr Stntlrt

161 2! 8354 5100

barc.twwa com

Mnde!dn~ 8/anchfi~ld

~ 161 2! 92/23343

mndl'lciurbltlncltfield.cmu 11 The canlilevercd roof provides pro1ec1 ion for lht omdoor con1inua1ion o f 1he living area.

habilusliving.cor