Our project ‘Concréte’ was recently recognised by the Australian Institute of Architects at their Brisbane Awards with an Honourable Mention. Learn more about the philosophy behind the project in our blog post below - or view an expanded library of images via the Comus Avenue Ascot project listing.
Concréte fluidly fuses Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate with European modernism. It was born from a desire to create a suburban structure that captured Australia’s cultural diversity and international architectural influences, while merging seamlessly with Brisbane’s urban fabric.
The brief was to create a functionalist, maintenance-free house for the owners to reside in, that would also cater for frequent visits from family. The site was a vacant block on a hillside street, with panoramic views of the city skyline. A program was created which carved the functions into three distinct categories: the basement is to serve, the ground level is to live, and the upper level is to sleep.
The dwelling was moulded into the hillside; enabling the service level to be submerged,forming a podium for the living level. Consequently, the home appears to seamlessly grow from the hillside contours. Rooms that don’t require natural light and benefit from natural cooling – such as the cellar and media room - were relegated within the hillside.
The house is raised on pilotis to allow for pedestrian movement and unobstructed views. The house elevates above the podium using a quintessential form for both European and Australian cultures – pilotis, or in colloquial vernacular “stumps”. The floor plan for the living level is free of structural conditioning, achieved through further use of cylindrical pilotis.
This allows the living areas to breakfree of structural function, instead providing an open plan space that is separated from the glass façade. The glazing is also sympathetic to the subtropical climate, serving as a permeable façade that allows natural breezes to flow through the void and upper level windows.
The lounge area is located in the void, where the sleeping volume above is floating, from both an internal and external perspective. The void acts as an internal public space that provides connection between the bedroom volume and living level. When entering via the front doors, visitors are immersed within the void, which conveys the aura of a contemporary cathedral.
The void is wrapped in concrete, inside and outside, which grounds the lightness of the sleeping prism. The choice of tilt-up concrete panels wrapping the void was in-part to contain costs, as they were manufactured onsite and constructed within days, reducing labour and associated costs and increasing time efficiency.
The panels, along with the exposed concrete floors, are also durable and low-maintenance materials, with the finish not requiring any ongoing treatment. This sleeping level was designed to enable the clients’ extended family – in particular, grandchildren – to retreat to a casual living area or bedroom, while adults continued to entertain downstairs.
The bedroom volume features horizontally cut windows across the entire length of the built form, drawing on the proportions of the golden rule to provide symmetry, light and views.
Due to the usage of glass fabric throughout the home, Energy Rating Consulting was commissioned to help reduce energy loading and increase the sustainability. This was achieved with solar panels, which are concealed behind the parapets, and double-glazed glass sliding doors on the living level.
Learn more about Concréte and view an expanded library of images by visiting the Comus Avenue Ascot project listing.
