Garden House Woollahra NSW

This house, comprising two beautifully detailed brick pavilions, responds directly to its environment. It was designed by Australian architects Tzannes to accommodate a young family who wanted a ‘home where they could all be together’ - one where they could flow in and out of the garden, and see it from every angle.

The project is for a new house set in a compact urban site. Within this dense situation Tzannes has created a relaxed yet rich garden landscape of interconnected indoor and outdoor rooms.

The new house was positioned to maximise access to northern light. To achieve this, the home hugs the bent southern boundary and is split into two distinct wings around the point of rotation; formal and informal areas split with the kitchen acting as fulcrum between the two. A dialogue is established between the two components of the house: the entertaining or public space/room, a large double height space with fireplace, dining and seating areas, and the more intimate private rooms for family use, which include a family room, bedrooms upstairs and a study/nanny’s room or grandmother’s apartment with its own bathroom downstairs.

Direct detailing and a restricted material palette favouring integral finishes limit the need for ongoing maintenance. Face brickwork is paired with oiled hardwood in sheltered locations, protected steel and oxide-tinted concrete.

Gardens surround the building. The house is open on all sides with many views through the plan linking rooms. The character of a house in a garden is immediately apparent through its soft presentation to the street with the only built structures being the entry gate and garage. The gardens extend to the footpath edge with the boundary fence absorbed by planting.

Tzannes