04 Mcgunnigle Shack

Inspired by their deep love of mid-century architecture and in particular The Kaufmann House in Palm Springs by Richard Neutra the owners came across mishack and saw a kindred spirit. They stayed a weekend in the first mishack, fell in love with the concept and a project was born.

The conceptual framework for the project was the result of two main key drivers. Spatially the layout needed to be able to adapt as the needs of this family of two adults and 3 young children changed over time. In time the parents will build over the rear carport to create their separate retreat and handover the main house to the growing brood. The shack characterizes simple easy flow layouts with seamless integration of main indoor and outdoor areas to allow easy expansion and enable multiplicity of uses depending on climate, activity or event.

Secondly, it needed to a have the spirit of a mid-century aesthetic in order to align with but not mimic the clients keen love for the infamous Kaufmann House and American Diner styled breakfast booths. Other drivers included a desire for an opening living area flooded in natural daylight and seamless integration with the main outdoor living area. A central passage acts as a simple access spine delineating and connecting private and communal spaces with easy transition and the northern orientation of the main indoor and outdoor living spaces allow them to naturally flood with natural daylight as the day and seasons permit.

Due to the sites excellent solar north orientation and the longest sides of the lot being the north and south flanks a solar passive design was the natural choice and made efficient use of the site. The clients adamantly did not want the atypical double garage at the front of the house scenario. A laneway to the side of the house was created therefore to double as landscaping with only the tyre runs to be paved in order to access the double carport at the rear and a space for a small boat behind the Store.

As a typical busy family of two full time working adults and all children at school a strong need to commune and connect was felt so their love of the American Diner styled Breakfast Booth was incorporated to act as a natural hub for the family members at the start of each day. Stories, plans, lunches and orders for the day could be dispensed in the convenience of a round table scenario to stay in touch with each members daily events.

Stylistically therefore clean crisp lines and low pitched roofs were the order of the day. Integrally mishack’s modular design system already incorporated these elements allowing for an easy contextual fit. A tip of the hat acknowledgement to the vertical steel screening of the Kaufmann house is given via the vertical steel screening at the front. Anyone involved in a project contributes, whether that be the client, consultants, builders, subcontractors, suppliers, neighbours, financial institutions and council. Design decisions can be effected by anyone of these parties for a myriad of reasons.

I found myself among kindred spirits in this project, in particular a client and a builder passionate about architecture and a supportive council. The client and builder maintained a clear intention throughout construction to ensure the spirit of the design was maintained. They were proactive with alternative solutions and paid impressive attention to detail. An architect can’t ask for anymore than that.

Mishack has a mandate to create budget conscious architecture, it achieves this via simple modular layouts and simple construction methods and a ‘middle of the market’ approach to fixtures, fittings and finishes. The McGunnigle Shack is a large house with extensive external areas under cover and a novel entry statement. It encompasses some 415m2 of overall built area under cover and was completed for an overall square meter rate of only $1690 dollars.

Mishack