On a cliffside in Sydney, Australia, overlooking the South Pacific Ocean, a concrete-framed residence had all the right pieces but none of the heart or functionality a young family required. Built in the 90s, the home lacked purpose or a cohesive layout. The family enlisted the help of architecture and design firm Alexander &CO. (A&CO.), who have transformed the five-bedroom home into a contemporary, materially rich and performative family dwelling. The design vernacular is inspired by the client’s European story of origin, the practicalities of family life, and the ocean adjacency.
“I liken these projects to breathing new life into an old maid,” Principal Jeremy Bull shares. “She was substantial in her structure, but devoid of spirit and certainly absent of any operational utility.”
Pacific House required the building to be quite fundamentally replanned. Although originally built substantially in masonry well before A&CO. was retained for their consultancy, it was poorly planned and was dislocated from its views, its gardens, and its room logic. The client, a young professional family, required that the house provide for their children, and the functional engineer of family life.
The client is a long-time advocate for A&CO.’s practice. Having completed various work for their commercial businesses, this project represented an opportunity to personalize their story within their own home. A&CO. decided that the home must have two sides; the kitchen and garden side including a pool, and a view side. After all, one can’t play in a view. Hence the plan was orientated to allow for the children and the duty of meals, swimming, and play, and then for the adults and the contemplation of watching the ocean.
The facades are white and textural, a backdrop onto which flowing green planting is contrasted. The concrete chassis of the old building is made more material, and curves are added to the view corner doors. It is a softer, more approachable version of what it was, notwithstanding that its 90s mystique is not altogether abolished. It becomes something of a Mediterranean-inspired monolith in draping green.
Inside, ceiling height constraints led A&CO. to ensure that the finishes and ceiling details are focal. New steel beams support larger concrete openings within the plan, and are dressed in timber to make them purposeful. Existing masonry walls required A&CO. to play within structural constraints, with room dimensions taking on careful geometries. The exterior facades of the building contain terraces, gardens, balconies, and planted edges. The building is conceived to become lost in gardens, with the pool conceived as a moment of P&O interaction with a curving dining niche. The palette is richly textured, but leans monochromatic.
“I think that the act of storytelling well into a not-too-old-but-plenty-bad chassis in a way that feels personal and convincing is a worthy exercise, and one I am quite fond of,” Bull concludes. “The building is once again breathing and quite alive. She feels both then and now. Aged and contemporary. Ready for a new family and her next 30 or so years I hope.”
Photography by Anson Smart.
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