Completed towards the end of 2019, this new build 4-bedroom house on the edge of Centennial Park in Sydney began life as an Alts&Adds project, as the site is in a Heritage Conservation Area. After several months of exploring design options we suggested to the client that “the modern addition on the back” may not be the right direction and that “starting again” might deliver a result with more integrity. Then came the challenge of convincing Council that this was the right approach. Heritage Conservation Areas are an incredibly important part of our planning system; and intact precincts should be fiercely defended. The paces that Council put us through were entirely justifiable. It was critical to us that with the Clients’ backing any new building should be robust, contemporary and contribute to its setting; and not a pastiche of a federation-style building. To do this, involved a careful study of the federation architecture to pull out key elements and then re-interpret them in a contemporary language. Brick and Timber were essential materials, Verandas, Balconies and Bay windows were key forms and a delicacy in the detail and texture were essential ingredients; With its mono-gable barn form, the existing building had none of these, and advice obtained from several independent heritage experts was that the existing building did not meet any of the criteria to deem it ‘contributory’ – it was “the missing tooth” / “the poor cousin” and that a well-designed new dwelling would better address the original covenant* for “high quality / mansion-style” residences on the edge of the park. (* a covenant was placed on the land under the Centennial Park Sales Act in 1904 when the land was sub-divided to help fund the creation of Centennial Park under the Centenary Celebration Act of 1887 when Sydney’s water catchment was relocated to the west).

The name House15/75 came from the angles created by responding to the alignment of the 2 neighbours, which was used as a generative device in the planning of the front. The double/triple nature of the gables seen in Federation houses also became a generative device – as did the 45° walls of bay windows in Federation houses. The circulation is no longer simply a corridor with rooms off it - it is at all points connected to landscape - be that the ornamental pond at the entry, the courtyards or the upstairs balcony off the hallway. The integration of the landscape with the architecture was a fundamental part of the design process from day one. At every opportunity, the outside is drawn into the interior spaces and the entry sequence is also a landscape solution;

The house's materiality is limited to 3 main elements: Double-brick (expressed internally at various points) for its warmth, texture and thermal mass. Thermally modified timber for its environmental credentials and softness; and 25mm thick aluminium elements with integral laser-cut patterns inspired by the motif’s often seen cut into the timber detailing on federation style houses

Project Team: Andy Macdonald / Hamed Ehtedaei

Builders: Grosser Constructions

Engineer: Partridge (Structural & Hydraulics)

Landscape: Bell Landsacpe and Paddock

Brickwork: JP Brickwork / Stonework: HB Stone (supplied by CDK Stone / Carrara Marble & Granite)

Metalwork: HB Stone EJF Engineering and Kosta Engineering

Joinery: élan (House) Paloma (Studio)

Council: Randwick

Photographer: Tom Ferguson(.com.au) and Murray Fredericks(.com.au)

Completed early 2015, this collaboration with TTAO (Telly Theodore Allied Office) formed a significant alteration to a terrace on a steeply sloping site with dual street frontages, is an archetypal manifestation of the value an architect can bring to a project. One big bold move creates an unrecognisable transformation.

The existing house appears from the front, to be a single-story terrace – as most of the house is actually underground. The (seemingly) simple act of cutting a lightwell into the rock below the original concrete front courtyard, brought light and air into the formerly windowless and dark lower level, whilst maintaining the heritage streetscape.

The back half of the house was entirely demolished and the ‘catastrophe’ of kitchen, bathroom, outdoor laundry etc. was then relocated to the front of the house (at the lower level). The living was then relocated to a new built-form at the rear re-using the existing bricks from the demolished section resulting in a vastly improved connection to the back yard. At the end of the yard a new studio over a garage helps frame the backyard which in summer becomes a shaded outdoor room under the enormous canopy of a Chinese Hackberry on the neighbouring property.

All the bedrooms and a large new bathroom are then grouped on the upper (street) level. We were very lucky to have Mary Gaudin take some of the photographs here whilst actually staying in the house over several days as a guest of the owners.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Telly Theodore Allied Office

Builders: Cuzco(House) / Constec(Studio)

Engineer: Partridge

Interiors: MiArchitects / Telly Theodore

Council: City of Sydney

Photographer:

Mary Gaudin(.com) and Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Completed mid-2017 for the dynamic duo of Michelle Spinks and Adam Goodrum this tiny addition to a refurbished heritage listed terrace (refurbished by Rohan Little in 2005) was a small part of a wider plan to convert the whole rear section of the house to accommodate growing children. Comprising a open space a sleeping platform and a small bathroom the building can stand alone as a teenage retreat.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Emiliano Miranda

Client: Goodrum/Spinks

Builder: Owner Builder w/ Magpie Carpentry

Engineer: Partridge

Council: City of Sydney

Photographer:

Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Originally completed 2007, the most recent works to this large family house in Paddington were completed in 2017

Magnificent in its scale, and the luxury of its finishes, the house includes a retractable roof over a central atrium, 1.5m wide circulation spaces, garaging for 4 cars, a cellar cut into the sandstone and quite a few kilometres of CAT-6 cabling! The house has changed hands three times in the 10 year period since it was finished and each new owner has engaged us to do works to tailor the house to their needs – a testament to the built-in flexibility.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Brent Dunn, Katharina Hendel, Emanuele Rattazzi, Dave Sweatman, Gernot Giudice

Clients: Hardi/Cannon-Brookes/Martin

Builder: Robert Plumb Build (orignal work by Asheville Pacific)

Engineer: Partridge

Services: VOS Group

Interiors: MiArchitects / Chrissie Jeffery

Council: Woollahra Municipal Council

Photographer:

Prue Ruscoe(.com)

Completed 2014 for director Andy Macdonald’s closest friends this addition to a 1940’s bungalow is a simple diagram that separates the house into three clear zones: Parents / Children / Shared.

Procured on an unusually tight budget the finishes are ‘no-nonsense’ robust and simple. The exposed joists of the ceiling in the new Kitchen/Living/Dining Space add texture and form a link to the textures of the period detailing in the original house. Upstairs the Parent’s retreat is bare bones but heavily insulated to ensure it is not a hotbox in the summer and nice and toasty in the winter.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Emiliano Miranda

Client: Shortland/Gleeson

Builder: David Tisdall

Engineer: Partridge

Interiors: MiArchitects

Lighting: Filament Lighting

Joinery: Jointec

Council: Marrickville (now Inner West)

Although this development was procured under a Complying Development Certificate (bypassing Council)

Photographer:

Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Completed 2016 this ‘house in the sky’ includes a large on-title private garden with captivating views over Sydney CBD and the harbour.

The project involved extending the upper level of an existing penthouse out onto the flat roof of the level below. The existing upper level felt small and restrictive with a mean outdoor area that was restricted from accessing views available from the on-title area that was inaccessible. A simple and restrained palette ensures a calm understated luxury.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Emiliano Miranda

Client: Dell/Reid

Builder: David Tisdall

Engineer: Partridge

Interiors: MiArchitects/Bradley Reid Interiors

Joinery: Jointec

Council: City of Sydney

Photographer:

Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Completed 2016 this grand old 3-storey inner-city terrace in Sydney was rescued from years of being an office and converted back into a beautiful home.

The conversion to an office (early 2000’s) had removed all the internal walls allowing for a clear program of a private domain on the top level, TV/Formal Living on the middle level and Kitchen/Dining and Guest on the lowest level connected to a garden featuring a plunge pool and garden

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Emiliano Miranda

Client: Windus/Barber

Builder: Grosser Constructions

Engineer: Partridge

Interiors: MiArchitects

Lighting: Gineico Lighting

Joinery: Elan

Council: City of Sydney

Photographer:

Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Completed 2013 this project is a single room addition to a Heritage listed house in Cammeray (Sydney)

The single room acts as the third living space and is where the family come together to eat and play. Connected to the garden and accessible separately from the rest of the house it provides a very different touchpoint to the rest of the house.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Emanuele Rattazzi

Client: Partos/Gregg

Builder: GPM Building

Engineer: Partridge

Interiors: MiArchitects

Joinery: Jointec

Council: North Sydney

Photographer:

Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Completed 2011 this 3 storey 5-bedroom family house was conceived as a platform for living set into the sandstone ledges of coastal Sydney. The lowest storey (cut into the sandstone) forms a solid masonry base creating a platform under the uppermost storey (‘a box of bedrooms’) that floats above the platform. The space between becomes Shelter oriented towards the ocean and its endless open vistas Each of these three levels is articulated using different materials; The top level is essentially glazed with computer controlled screens that read the weather and determine whether to open up to the sun or shut down to the weather. The lowest level which contains the rumpus/family room + guest accommodation at garden/pool level is solid and uses a one-off concrete brick with a unique proportion – the resultant middle layer is largely glazed - sandwiched between the other two levels.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald / Brent Dunn / Emanuele Rattazzi / Pui-Yu Lee / Matt Poplett

Builder: Steele Associates

Engineer: Alba & Associates Consulting

ESD: Eco-logical Design

Landscape: Art in Green

Interiors & Lighting: MiArchitects

Council: Randwick

Photographer:

Adam Resch(.com) and Mac-Interactive

Completed 2010 this house is clad in Grey Bark, making tangible reference to the weatherboard cottage that was previously on the site.

The sculpted form of the house was driven almost entirely by the height, scale and topography of the surrounding urban context, the numerical controls set out by the local Council and of course the Client’s requirements. The house has three levels, including a rumpus room under the roof.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Emanuele Rattazzi, Ian Lim, Robert Kalocay, Karsten Jandke

Client: Anthony/Danta

Builder: Spyker / Taylor Constructions

Engineer: SDA Structures

Landscaping: Garden Life

Interiors: MiArchitects

Lighting: MiArchitects

Principal Certifying Authority: NSW Building Approvals

Council: City of Sydney

Photographer:

Interiors - Murray Fredericks(.com.au) Exteriors - Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Completed 2011, this project has soaring ceilings and a pared back materiality that exudes a calm confident aesthetic. This was very much a reflection of the client.

The design took advantage of the land falling away to the rear; inserting a two storey addition at the rear – up half a level to new Bed/Study/Bath and down half a level to new Kitchen/Living/Dining and back yard. As with many of our projects this one seeks to find a good balance between maximising design potential whilst working closely with the surrounding built form to minimise impact on neighbours.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald, Joseph Lombardo

Builder: GPM Building

Engineer: O’Hearn Consulting

Lighting: Filament Lighting

Joinery: DM Kitchens

Council: Waverley

Photographer:

Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

RICKARD HOUSE Completed 2017, this 2 storey 4-bedroom family house was completed for a developer who was keen to utilise the Complying Development path (rather than a Development Application) as it was felt this might deliver a better outcome.

Whilst the brief was quite specific about concrete ceilings and timber cladding the form and structure were all to be kept as simple as possible to keep costs down. Great importance was placed on disguising the garage and getting away from the 2-car façade style that all too often dominates our suburbs. Arriving into the house you are greeted with 2 things: a double height space containing the stair and straight opposite, the pool. Being to the north of the house the water bounces great light into both this arrival space and the main living space.

By digging slightly into the land and raising the three back bedrooms to be 5 or so steps above the front part of the house, we were able to achieve 3.5m ceiling heights – which together with the off form concrete ceiling and glass to two walls makes for an enormous living space with great connection to both the garden and the open plan kitchen.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald / Emiliano Miranda

Builder: Vicinity Homes

Engineer: ANH Consulting Engineers

Interiors & Lighting: Ziink Interiors

Council: Canada Bay

(procured as a Complying Development Certificate)

Photographer: Simon Whitbread

Completed 2012, this project involved the restoration of an existing 2-storey heritage listed commercial building and the addition of an extra level.

The completed building included a Café and storage/parking at ground level with two levels of Offices above. Clad in Zinc, the new level has glazing to the north and west providing a great outlook across Alexandria and in the distance planes coming in to land at Sydney Airport. The east and south sides of the new level take on a folded mansard form to ensure the impact on solar access to the neighbours is minimised. Interiors were simple and materials kept to a budget.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald / Emanuele Rattazzi

Client: Dimeo

Builder: Calida

Engineer: SDA Structures

Lighting: MiArchitects

Interiors: MiArchitects

Principal Certifying Authority: Philip Chun

Council: City of Sydney Council

Photographer:

Tom Ferguson(.com.au)

Completed 2007, PYD was one of the flag ships of this new design hub of Sydney, and received a commendation at the 2008 Interior Design Awards

The project involved the revamp of a 2 storey cardboard-box manufacturing warehouse at the corner of Phillip and Young Streets (PhillipYoungDanks). The refurbished building comprises a specialty interior design retail centre; selling products exclusive to the Sydney market - 18 retail outlets, café around a flexible atrium space to be used for design lectures, awards ceremonies and exhibitions.

The architectural intervention has involved the removal of complete sections of the building to create a large 3 storey , naturally ventilated atrium space. The addition of a mezzanine level allows additional space for the retail tenancies and a modification of the existing roof allow for greater sunlight to both the atrium and the shops. The centre opened their doors in July 2007 where they hosted Saturday In Design including a very packed Pecha Kucha event with Andy Macdonald as one of the guest speakers.

Project Team: Andy Macdonald / James Gardiner / Rod Uriarte / Dave Sweatman / Emanuele Rattazzi / Brent Dunn

Client: Buying By Design

Construction Manager: MPA Group Pty Ltd

Structural Engineer: Partridge

Town Planner: JBA Planning

Electrical Engineer: VOS Group

Hydraulics Engineer: Hughes Trueman

Principal Certifying Authority: Davis Langdon

Council: City of Sydney Council

Photograher:

Peter Merison (Shoalhaven Studios) and Charles Heath Engineering

Performed in 2013 I Love Todd Sampson (ILTS) was part theatre, part installation and part concert and won the Event Category of the IDEA Awards in 2013

I Love Todd Sampson was an ambitious project – not only in terms of its scale (theatre which takes place over 5,000 square metres of raw space) – but also in the extent of the collaborations involved. 10 teams of Architects (some of which include other disciplines such as designer-makers and artists) collaborated with The Living Room Theatre, sound designers, musicians, artists and a film maker to create this unparalleled multi-disciplinary theatre work.

Using site specific installations, artists across each discipline combine to create works that are discrete from one another and yet connected - they are unified through the performance and space.

The audience, like Laura (the protagonist) will find patterns in seemingly random configurations of language, image, sound and space creating a sense of communal listening and closer awareness of the individual in the larger environment.The journey of the performance moves from clutter (representing confusion in Laura’s mind) through to vast emptiness to communicate loss and vulnerability

Project Team: Michelle St Anne (The Living Room Theatre) / Andy Macdonald

Architectural Collaborators:

Nuala Collins / Charlotte Karlsson / Nadia Wagner / Kim Nguyen Ngoc / Victoria Bolton / Nicole Chojecka / Caroline Comino

Sam Crawford Architects:

Sam Crawford / Claire McCaughan / Adam Jones / Adam Edge Christopher Bickerton / Steven Janssen / Chris Smith

Genevieve Lilley Architects:

Genevieve Lilley / Chun Suh / Emma Guthrey

Archrival:

Lucy Humphrey / Cecelia Humphrey / Chad Gibson / Constance Trofimovs / Patrick Fileti

CarterWilliamson Architects:

Lisa Merkesteyn / Kellie Beatty / Charlotte Evans / Julia Anna de los Santos

Collaborators:

Imogen Crana (film) Alister Spence (music) Michaela Gleave (artist) Lawrence English (sound)

Performers:

Gabrielle Quinn (Laura) Alan Flowers (Old Man) Carol (Old Woman) Lanneke Jones (Singer) Ling Huesh Tang Mary Rapp (cello) Michelle St Anne (Child)

Client:

The Living Room Theatre

Photographer:

Imogen Cranna