DESIGN BY SUBTRACTION

Albert Street

Location

Leichhardt, Sydney

Completion

2018

Type

Residential

Traditional Custodians

Wangal and Gadigal

The brief for this warehouse renovation was to create a simple liveable plan for a couple and their art collection. The interior was remodelled open the full experience of the tall and long sawtooth warehouse space, considering the fall of natural light deep within the interior. Important to the brief was the creation of a contained, central, outdoor pool, defined by a vivid blue reminiscent of our client's time on another remote coastline.

Original Interior and Layout

The existing interior had a number of poor 1980’s additions that cluttered the space with misplaced stairs, kitchen, and other utilities, within an otherwise generous volume. Our concept was to re-create the warehouse interior through design by subtraction, removing the extraneous elements to create a clear, open interior built around a centrally located pool, reflecting light deep into the interior.

Developing the Door Detail
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Developing the Screen Detail
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Building from the Renders
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Developing the Screen Detail
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Bronze Welding Details
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Developing the Door Detail
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Developing the Screen Detail
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The detailing of the project focussed on the thresholds into the central courtyard space, creating seamless connections between the courtyard and interior through resolution and integration of the steel structure with door and window heads and sills. 

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The material character of the warehouse renovation focused on a simple palette that emphasised the inherent qualities of the original sawtooth envelope. The floor was reconstructed as a fresh concrete slab, and the walls white painted brick, while new elements focused on creating subtle plays of light and tactility within the warehouse interior.

Section
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Ground Floor Plan
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First Floor Plan
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Section
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Ground Floor Plan
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Credits

Team

Andrew Burges, Min Dark, Cameron Deynzer, Peter Maxwell, Peter Ewald-Rice, Charles Choi

Builder

Technique Build

Photography

Katherine Lu

Andrew Burges Architects

32/61 Marlborough St
Surry Hills NSW 2010

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