Couldrey
House in Brisbane, Australia
2020
. . . .
A house set in the foothills of Mount Coot-tha (“Honey Mountain”) in Brisbane, Australia. The surrouding topography is highly underlating and verdunt. The shaley stone is quite high in the site subsoil, and the house springs directly from the rock of the old mountain.
The brickwork is monolithic, and speaks of solidity and permanence. Western sun in Brisbane is unforgiving, and a windowless frontage completely protects the interiors which then face north-east for views and breezes. Together with the concrete superstructure, the house is heavy and cools by thermal mass.
A long off-white brick was chosen and matching mortar which spills from the horizontal joint giving a “corduroy” effect. The mortar catches the light and gives the elevations landscape qualities, like tree bark or sedimentary rock.
“The luscious oozing mortar of the masonry facades is delightful, as is the simple interior palette of concrete, ‘white’ and ‘timber’. The house is perfectly adapted to the ‘ancient and enigmatic landscape’ heavy from the outside and surprisingly light when you enter the living room situated in the canopy of the trees”
- The Architectural Review
Photography
Rory Gardiner
Thanks
Jessica Spresser, Andrew Furzeland, Max Blake
Awards
1st Prize: Erich Mendelsohn Prize, Federal Republic of Germany
Highly Commended: AR House, United Kingdom
Publications
