The Browne Street House is a reinterpretation of the Queenslander cottage. It reinvigorates the plan to offer alternatives to how spaces are used. The interplay and juxtaposition of the new and old is through material expression and form, and the cantilevered cottage is a deliberate subversion of the Queenslander paradigm and aims to recalibrate the perception of the house.
Using the kitchen as a “node” around which spaces are ordered, integration and balance between the indoor and outdoor domains is achieved. Access to north sun and light always shapes a great deal of the planning, and the manipulation of void and volume facilitate the transformed experience of the space.
The idea of craft making, primarily through the use of timber detailing, is very important. The control of view and amenity through the manipulation of window openings and selective use of screening also plays a critical role.
“Our client respected our work, embraced our ideas and contributed enormously to adding to the quality and refinement of what got delivered. The builder took the project on with the same love and care that we did which is reflective in the outcome. This project was about the joy of crafting a place out of a derelict cottage wedged into its location. The design also looked to subtly provoke. The deletion of the columns below the cottage contravened local law but won support despite this. When we could not add doors to the old facade, we made the facade a door. When the setbacks prevented us adding cover to the front door, we made the cottage into an awning. The pursuit to light and views then created a multidimensional series of voids through the house which are mediated by shutters and screens. This is a small house but one with a sense of purpose, not too much or too little.”
