/ BELL ROMERO HOUSES 2011

New attached dwellings

The Bell Romero Houses are located within a conservative suburb of Sydney. The site slopes steeply away from the street frontage and has expansive views of remnant bushland to the rear. The clients required two mirrored dwellings to be constructed on the site. The levels of the dwellings are offset, responding to the slope of the site and distinguishing the two. The roofs of the dwellings were designed as a series of gables to reflect the predominant roof type of the locality. The ceiling of the top floor living spaces follows the pitch of the roof above, appearing as a series of undulating pitched planes and skylight shafts between the two sidewalls. The pitched ceiling defines both internal living spaces and external terraces, which along with the luminance provided to the interior by the skylights, blurs the boundary between interior and exterior space. The facades of the dwellings incorporate solid and translucent horizontal banding which disguises the location of the split floor plates and windows on the building façade. The occupants can control solar access, ventilation, views and privacy by adjusting the operable louvres and windows within the horizontal bands.

Photographer: John Gollings Photographer: Katherine Lu Photographer: John Gollings Photographer: John Gollings Photographer: John Gollings Photographer: John Gollings Photographer: Katherine Lu Photographer: Katherine Lu Photographer: Katherine Lu Photographer: Katherine Lu Photographer: Katherine Lu Photographer: John Gollings Photographer: John Gollings