BY GENEVIEVE LILLEY
Houses Magazine
A thought-provoking and inspiring architect-client relationship has led to the achievement of a happy and profoundly comfortable family home.
When architects work in cities other than their own, they bring with them a sensibility that benefits their client, who presumably sought them out for this. Their sensibility also benefits the design community in general, reminding those who work in the 'host' city of the habits that are formed, often subconsciously, by continuing to work in the one area, surrounded by similarly focused peers.
In the case of the project, on a battleaxe block in Sydney's Hunters Hill, Brisbane firm Arkhefield provided skills and empathy that its clients had not been able to find elsewhere. The clients had bought the site a decade before and lived int he 1981-built house on the land since - sufficient time to dream about their family home, and to understand the idiosyncrasies of the light, breezes, aspect and neighbours. They had interviewed a number of firms across Sydney and Melbourne and finally were drawn to Arkhefield because of its strong preoccupation with interiors.
