Building Heritage & Garden Designs

One of the projects we've had the fortune of working up concepts of late is for a great Sydney home by modernist architect Russell Jack who worked in Australia during the 1950's and 60's.

Jack's work is thoroughly modernist in its modesty of scale, boxy hard edged line yet clever connect to its surrounds. influenced by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright as well as that of Japanese traditional houses, Alvar Aalto and local architect, Sydney Ancher.

His projects have a very private quality - in their use of material and the way that they are positioned on the piece of land - and how they feel inside. As Margaret Tuckson, another fan and owner of the Russell Jack home describes it as needing to be invited in to know it is there at all - thoroughly unassuming. 

The particular home we'll be working with is no exception and so our role is to pay careful tribute to the designer and his design whilst listening to the client and what they need the garden to be – where the inside is able to bring softness and humanity through the wall hangings and soft furnishings unique to the client, we have the opportunity to bring some of that to the exterior and make it something that reflects the client's style and needs equally.

Striking that balance is the tricky part - but we're excited! Some of the aspects of the design of the house which will be formative in our design include - the strong connection between the inside and outside of the house; the numerous strong viewing positions to the garden and therefore, focal points from things like a very considered window situation for example; the continuous flow with no real closed off areas within the house itself, wide thoroughfares, yet careful balanced with well proportioned rooms that feel very cosy and cocoon-like – and importantly, because the light coming into the house is somewhat limited and so we will need to be conscious of planting colour and height.

Images Source: The Design Files, 12 October 2011

http://thedesignfiles.net/2011/10/sydney-home-annalisa-capurro/