The Village House, Sydney Homes, NSW Real Estate Building, Architecture Images
The Village House in Upper North Shore
Contemporary Architecture Development in New South Wales design by Luigi Rosselli Pty Ltd
31 Jan 2019
The Village House
Architects: Luigi Rosselli Pty Ltd
Location: Upper North Shore, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Earth Wind and Fire – The Village House
Earth is one of the oldest construction materials known to man; it can be fired, as with bricks and tiles, or used in its raw state as with adobe or rammed earth. Earth is a malleable material; in the Bible it is claimed that God formed mankind in ‘his’ own image from earth and water. Earth is a soft material that can become strong and weight bearing, while maintaining a breathable skin.
Multiple roof gables of different heights and pitches extend out of the historical part of the house, containing the new main living and kitchen wing on the ground floor and the childrens’ bedrooms on the first floor, which all have small mezzanines built into the roof form.
A modern flat roofed verandah connects the ground floor rooms with a shaded and breezy outdoor terrace that provides a gentle transition between the interior spaces and the sprawling garden.
photo © Justin Alexander
With ‘The Village House’, rammed earth provides the catalyst to bring together history, nature, malleability and softness around a graceful Federation era bungalow, adorned with a handsome veranda.
Luke Mahony of Earth Dwellings Australia is the heroic rammed earth contractor who managed to raise both the formwork and earth seven metres in the air without traditional cranes and ram it to perfection. Traditionally the fire was the main focal point of the home in this case the centre has moved out of the main house as this garden is the focal centre of gravity.
photo © Edward Birch
A massive Warmington Open Wood fire box made in New Zealand and large enough to contain a spit is the raison d’être for the chimney, a large Cor-Ten steel timber and tool store stretches to the right. The ceiling frame can be closed up with a retractable canvas awning.
photo © Edward Birch
The project came to be known as The Village House owing to the number of roof gables, wings and separate buildings scattered across the large suburban block, located on Sydney’s Upper North Shore.
The kitchen cabinetry, designed by Luigi Rosselli Architect’s Monica Vogel Santos, and the finishes selected by Alexandra Donahoe of Decus maintain a classic but modern feel, the pendant light is a favourite of Alexandra’s.
photo © Prue Ruscoe
The property comes complete with a chicken coop and enclosure, an extensive vegetable garden and a large workshop / shed. Will Dangar designed the large, lushly landscaped grounds and a custom, Cor-ten steel wood pile.
photo © Justin Alexander
The skylights provide an efficient passive solar system in combination with the thermal mass of the rammed earth wall.
photo © Justin Alexander
The additions to the original home stretch out to one side and towards the back of the block to best capture the northern sun. The stretches across the other side with a pool house to one end. A separate wing at the front contains the garage and laundry.
The stair is located at the junction between the original house levels and the new additional level. The old floorboards already had a black Japan finish and so a new coat was applied. On the lower floor are large limestone tiles from Spain.
photo © Justin Alexander
‘Live and play’ is the family motto, and the steel stair reflects this credo with the integration of slide. The upper levels contain the kids’ bedrooms and a rumpus / playroom, a full storey for the new generation, while the older generation remains downstairs. Taking the slide makes for an easier rush to the school drudge.
photo © Edward Birch
Used sparingly together with the original materials of the century old home, timber shingles, bricks recycled from this and other sites, the rammed earth walls are the links that unite the fragments. A slate roof with multiple complex gables and valleys also unifies the complex, exploded layout of the house.
A child growing up in The Village House could play Monopoly for the pleasure of stacking together red and green hotel and building tokens side by side in the game to outdo their home.
photo © Edward Birch
The swimming pool laps the recycled brick wall of the master bedroom suite: crystalline water, a tropical garden and a beach umbrella can be contemplated from the master bedroom window seat of a window that projects out over the pool in Cor-Ten steel box.
photo © Edward Birch
Internally, the flow of the spaces reflects the century of history that has shaped the rooms, from the entry through the original veranda and the formal rooms built in the early 1900s through to the main modern additions where a curved steel stair links to the two storey main wing.
photo © Justin Alexander
photo © Justin Alexander
The additions use materials and an architectural language that relates back atmosphere of the original house as a sign of respect and affinity yet is without mimicry.
image © Luigi Rosselli
Rammed earth, limestone floors, timber trusses, and panelled timber joinery are a timeless soft palette to achieve a very liveable home for a convivial, warm and embracing family.
images © Luigi Rosselli
The Village House, Upper North Shore – Building Information
Location: Upper North Shore, Sydney NSW
Council: Ku-ring-gai Council
Design Architect: Luigi Rosselli
Project Architect: Irene Brugueras, Monica Vogel-Santos, Simon Hassall
Interior Designer: Decus Interiors Pty Ltd
Builder: Owner Builder
Rammed Earth Contractor: Earth Dwellings Australia
Structural Consultant: Rooney & Bye Pty Ltd
Joiner: Owner Builder
Landscaper: Dangar Barron Smith
Geothermal Heating and Cooling: Progressive Energy Systems
Photography: Justin Alexander , Prue Ruscoe and Edward Birch
images © Luigi Rosselli
The Village House in Upper North Shore, Sydney images / information received 310119
Location: Upper North Shore, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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