A Different Angle A modern twist on a classic Queenslander.
This light-filled home in inner Brisbane has all the hallmarks of a Queenslander – but not as you know it.
Perched on the crest of a hill, this new home in inner Brisbane enjoys two street frontages. It was designed for an emptynester couple whose brief to architects Vokes and Peters was that the home not only respond to its rather idyllic site, but that its spaces be tailored to accommodate their extensive art collection. While the timber house could hardly be construed as a traditional Queenslander, its design offers a nod to this style of home. “We took the syntax of the traditional Queenslander house and updated it so it offered the kind of amenity and lifestyle that a contemporary Brisbane family might aspire to,” says architect Aaron Peters, director of Vokes and Peters, who worked closely on this project with co-director Stuart Vokes, project architect Emma Robinson and Boss Gardenscapes. “‘It works hard to manage privacy on a narrow site while also opening up to both the garden and more distant scenery. The site slopes steeply between two streets and looks west towards the Taylor Ranges and out to a pocket of bushland, the Story Bridge and the CBD.”
Naturally, there had to be sufficient wall space to display the owners’ art, but Aaron and Stuart also wanted to create different perspectives from which to view it. While there are paintings in every room, one of the key installations is the ‘art cupboard’ that’s situated above the main living area. “The idea was to make viewing the artwork a more interactive experience – the area can be opened up and paintings are on show to guests, becoming the subject of conversation. When the walls are closed, the owners are able to enjoy a more calming, ‘silent’ living area, with the art tucked away.”
Light is funnelled into the core of the house via angular highlight windows, protecting the artworks and enabling each space to become animated when required. “It’s so important to get the balance of light and shade right in each room, especially somewhere as sunny as Queensland,” says Aaron. A combination of different window solutions is used, from narrow clerestory windows through to traditional casement styles. And the eastern elevation has large retractable timber-battened screens that can be drawn open to increase the morning sunlight.
The home’s entry leads straight into the open-plan kitchen/dining/ living area. Blackbutt parquetry stars in this space, as do the pendant lights above the kitchen’s stone island bench by Finnish designer Alvar Aalto. The living zone and kitchen adjoin a central courtyard, which offers plenty of places to enjoy sunshine and fresh air, including built-in concrete benches and a splayed island in the undercroft for protected seating and outdoor dining in one. Angular steel columns that frame the covered outdoor area loosely reference the 1950s, as do the external louvres – these were sometimes used in Modernist homes from this period. The crazy paving in the courtyard also recalls
“THE IDEA WAS TO MAKE VIEWING THE ARTWORK A MORE INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE–THE PAINTINGS CAN BE PRESENTED TO GUESTS AND BECOME THE SUBJECT OF A CONVERSATION .” AARON PETERS, ARCHITECT
the shift to outdoor living in the postwar period. “The house has been configured to have the garden at its centre,” says Aaron. “This open space allows natural light into the building, promotes good crossventilation and provides a verdant view from inside the home.” While many Queenslanders have an informal Australian aesthetic, you can observe some gentle European influences in the fine joinery on the staircase leading up to the bedrooms.
The first-floor sitting area, with its raked timber-lined ceiling, also points to the northern hemisphere. “It’s not a formal European villa; you could say there are a number of influences in the mix,” adds Aaron, whoseprimaryconcernwastocreateahomethatwouldbeascomfortable for two people as for the times when children and grandchildren, some of whom live interstate, visit.
One of the key design intents for this home was that it “connect to nature”, says Aaron. Given that the architects inherited a vacant 450-square-metre site, it might have been tempting to build as close to the boundaries as possible. “We were able to ensure the building makes ample space for gardens and feels expansive, despite the close proximity of neighbouring residences,” he says. “I think the end result is a house that defers to the history of its suburb while embracing a subtle, contemporary sensibility.”
“THE GROUND PLANE HAS BEEN RE IMAGINED TO CONNECT THE UPPER AND LOWER STREET FRONT AGES .” AARON PETERS