While all architectural projects are to be approached with care and consideration, working on the design for this house in the leafy inner-city Canberra suburb of O'Connor was particularly salient for architect Silas Gibson from SOS Architects, as the client was an old friend from high school.
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"Maintaining the friendship was key," Gibson jokes.
So what was designed for the young professional couple with two sons?
The brief was for a striking contemporary home that combines passive solar orientation with a number of flexible spaces and zones, providing connection or separation depending on the activity.
The property's kerb appeal has been accentuated thanks to the cantilever of the upper level timber gable, which Gibson says defines the entry zone and creates a strong hierarchy and formal legibility to the street.
A stained blackbutt timber screen on the first floor window creates a sense of privacy and seclusion, while also creating an intricate shadow display inside, which shifts throughout the day.
Eleven-metre long steel beams that support the upper level continue inside, as a way of articulating and orienting the inside spaces.
There is a children's wing, with two bedrooms, separated by a flexible space that can be used as either a guest room or kids playroom.
Upstairs from the entry is a secluded study nook which leads back to the parents' retreat that captures views to Mount Ainslie.
On the back of this project, Victorian-based SOS Architects scored more than a dozen other Canberran projects, proving that this utterly striking home is not just a pretty face.
