Project: Xavier House
Architects: Bryant Alsop Architects
Location: Australia
Project size: 368 m2
Site size: 561 m2
Completion date 2022
Building levels 2
Photo Credits: Emily Bartlett
Courtesy of Bryant Alsop
Located at the end of a dead-end street, Xavier house breaks away from its neighbourhood context by eliminating a front fence – a simple gesture that allows the site to spatially appropriate well beyond its title boundaries. The house then, in this context, becomes the physical barrier between the public and private realms – a layered, folding screen.
White painted brickwork folds in to identify the entrance and upon entering the house, a large, light-filled entry creates a moment for residents and guests to pause, take off their shoes and take in the house and landscape.
Natural materials (timber, wool, marble) and soft tones throughout bring a calmness as you move through and up into the house; north-facing windows allow natural light to penetrate deep into the living zones.
Programmatically, the Xavier house divides into fairly traditional zones -children upstairs; parents downstairs at the front, and living spaces opening onto a north-facing lawn & entertainment area. Service areas are pushed to the southern edge of the plan allowing maximum aspect to the north.
The project has a strong focus on sustainable systems – solar power, heat pump HWS and heat-recovery heating/cooling; as well as employing good passive design principles, low-VOC products and high-performance glazing.
