Place. Designing a home that belongs where it stands
No two sites are the same, and no two homes should be either. Before anything is drawn, we need to understand what the site is giving us.
Most of that work starts before we even arrive. By the time we walk onto a block, we've already done our research, so we know a lot about what to expect. But standing on the land is different. When you've been doing this for a long time, the possibilities start running through your head straight away, and part of the skill is settling yourself and really looking.
We look at where the sun sits through the day, from the first morning light to the late afternoon. We look at where the breezes come from, and where the storms and bad weather come from. Which trees give welcome shade, and which ones might be a problem. How the neighbours look in, and how you'll look out. Whether the site is flat or sloping. Whether there's overland flow or bushfire risk to plan for. Every one of those things shapes the home, and each one has an effect on both the design and the cost.
Some sites present endless options that we gradually narrow down. Others point clearly to two or three ideas that will work well. Either way, by the end of that first visit we usually have a sense of where the living spaces want to be, where the bedrooms should go and which way the roof will run.
Then there's the question of what's allowed. Every site comes with town planning rules, such as height limits, setbacks and overlays. On inner city blocks especially, those rules can shape a home as much as the land does. In Brisbane's character suburbs, the traditional character overlay means a new home or renovation has to sit comfortably among the homes around it.
So part of the job is knowing exactly what's possible and, when it makes sense, working with council on a negotiated outcome. At 149 GT in Spring Hill we worked with a cottage built before 1911, surrounded by very traditional homes, and the result came from understanding the planning requirements inside out. Apex in Paddington was the same. Both are homes that respect their streets while still being unique.
Sloping sites are where working with the land matters most. Sometimes there's no other option and a site simply has to be levelled. But wherever we can, we design a home that works with the land instead of flattening it, because the outcome is simply better. On a slope, we do everything we can to keep a connection to the ground and the outdoors. Homes designed that way are more unique, and they sit naturally in their surroundings.
That's why place matters so much to us. A home designed for its site works with the environment instead of fighting it. It's more comfortable to live in, it makes the most of everything the land has to offer, and because you're not fighting the site, it can even bring the building cost down.
The end result is a home that belongs in its place.
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