Add to favorites

#RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS

STIRLING HOUSE BY MAC-INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTS

A contemporary build that redefines Sydney’s traditional terrace house

In recent years, Australian architects have been redefining the typical terrace house with solutions that reconnect the house with the garden and reinvent the flow of the living space. Sydney’s Stirling House is a new construction that replaces a pair of unrestorable cottages in a heritage conservation neighborhood. Mac-Interactive Architects decided to pay homage to the architectural heritage of the city with a contemporary update to the terrace house.

As avid collectors of found objects, unique art and furniture, the clients balked at the idea of a modernist dwelling that predefined their interior. The architects designed the house with an unconventional shape that they clad in weathered wooden planks. The timber cladding references the ramshackle cottages that the home would replace, while also emphasizing the building’s three-dimensional form. Windows were strategically placed on the open flank of the house to take advantage of the adjacent park and to break up the home’s otherwise solid form.

To increase available vertical space, the house was dug slightly below ground. Color was used to visually separate the living spaces from the kitchen/dining area, while a joinery form wrapped around the staircase and functional space creates a more physical barrier and eliminates a “cube-like” interior. Rather than being banished to the attic as in a traditional terrace house, the children’s playroom was placed on a mezzanine that connects with the principal living area. Thus, a coherent physical journey is conceived throughout the interior from top to bottom.

STIRLING HOUSE BY MAC-INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTS

Details

  • Sydney NSW, Australia
  • MAC-INTERACTIVE ARCHITECTS