Hunters Hill is an attractive, historic peninsula that lies between the Parramatta and Lane Cove rivers on the north shore of Sydney Harbour. The suburb, a precursor to the Garden City movement, was subdivided in the 19th century with sandstone mansions and Victorian timber cottages sitting side by side, with large gardens and private parks containing centuries old trees.
It was natural to choose stone and timber to build a new house on the edge of one of these private parks. Sydney sandstone has a slightly yellow hue that darkens and becomes more attractive over time. The timeless materials provide a warm colour palette in an otherwise contemporary construction.
Behind the sandstone walls, huge, double glassed (Skyframe) windows with minimal framing are pocketed out of sight. Post tensioned concrete slabs have been cantilevered with minimal steel post support to cover the main garden terrace. Behind vertical timber shutters, curved glass windows span from floor to ceiling.
Designed for an uncluttered and relaxed family life the house layout is very simple and quite cartesian in plan except for one sinuous wall overhanging the driveway. Every room opens to a terrace or the garden through large glass doors that slide on ball bearings; one can step outside without noticing the thresholds. Additionally, one can move fluidly from the entry to the open plan living space while hardly noticing the floor to ceiling timber door that, when open, is entirely hidden in the wall but when closed completely separates the open plan area from the rest of the house.
All this modern machinery for easy living could end up being sterile and boring without a dark side: take the stairs to the basement and you will find a subterranean level housing a car collection, a home theatre, workshop, and wine cellar.
Project Architect, Jane McNeill managed to pull out of the barrel a beautiful cellar and perfectly detailed drawings that required no site visits and no questions from the Builder to execute.
Location: Hunters Hill, NSW
Design Architect: Luigi Rosselli
Project Architect: Jane McNeill
Interior Designer: Romaine Alwill of Alwill Interiors Pty Ltd
Builder: KCJ Constructions Pty Ltd
Structural Consultant: BG&E Pty Ltd
Joiner: Space Joinery
Landscape Designer: Rolling Stones Landscapes
Landscape Installer: Hillii Landscapes
Photography: Justin Alexander, Edward Birch, Jane McNeill
Sydney sandstone walls, steel and timber adjustable screens and concrete slabs are the spare and restrained and dominant materials of the entry frontage. Close to the neighbours and to the access road it needed to offer privacy yet at the same time allow the northern sun to filter into the house. A game of open-and-close may be played with the resulting shutter solution. The entry steps are laid on a gentle incline, with a ramp to one side to provide ease of access for children’s prams and for moving the garbage bins.
To the eastern elevation privacy is not required; on the contrary the situation of the house, on a Hunters Hill riverfront plot with its view of the yacht moorings on the Lane Cove River is the perfect reason to open it up to its fullest so as to embrace the invigorating and idyllic setting. Floor to ceiling windows can be pushed back to disappear completely behind the sandstone chimney wall and one may step out onto the veranda completely unobstructed.
© Justin Alexander
The simple terraces and rooflines of the house contrast with a muddle of “must-have” accessories – spa, pool shower, pizza oven and barbeque – required for outdoor living. The swimming pool itself features a flush wet edge to facilitate ease of entry into and exit from the water and a concealed pool cover, which is remote operated and rolls out of a slot at one end of the pool.
© Justin Alexander
© Jane McNeill
Part of the architectural heritage of Hunters Hill are a number of sandstone houses constructed in the 1850s by two of the suburb’s first residents, French brothers, Didier and Jules Joubert. Jules himself was a stonemason and he quarried the stone to construct a number of grand villas with large gardens that characterise the area. This new Hunters Hill home endeavours to continue this tradition with a new twist.
© Justin Alexander
© Edward Birch
A lush tropical garden is framed by the deep covered terrace, all the bedrooms open up with no-threshold doors and slatted timber screens let the river breezes filter indoors.
© Jane McNeill
© Jane McNeill
A top hung sliding door glides out of the wall cavity to close off a fluid passage from the entry hall to the main living space.
Skilled builder, KCJ Constructions took a bite out of the door to accommodate a continuous shelf that spans between the entry hall and the open plan living area, ideal for dropping your keys, your phone, your family photos and your model boats.
© Jane McNeill
Stairs should invite an effortless ascension: cantilevered stair treads, transparency the light that floods the space are all elements to aid with this uplifting experience. To the left, French Stonemasonry’s recycled sandstone wall helps us remain down to earth.
© Justin Alexander
All the Swiss made, oversized windows can be concealed in the wall cavity behind the stonework and cabinetry to the left of the large open-plan living area to blur the boundaries between the house, the terrace and the landscape beyond. The result is a space of easy relaxation, enjoyed here by Project Architect, Jane McNeill.
© Justin Alexander
Stone and timber again. This time in the kitchen with a shark-nose edge to the stone benchtop and solid timber doors. Oversized vitrified ceramic floor tiles make the space indestructible.
© Justin Alexander
© Justin Alexander
Le Courbusier had a famous saying: “Architecture is the … magnificent play of masses brought together in light,” illustrated here by the way the afternoon sunlight plays across the curved walls and ceiling bulkhead.
© Justin Alexander
Is symmetry the right answer to a matrimonial bed? In this case, yes; the clients have skilfully managed their brief, the consultants and builder as a balanced pair. The joinery, designed by Jane McNeill, was executed by Space Joinery
© Justin Alexander
The barrel in the cellar is a classic and looks perfectly at ease in this calm space. The pendant light is by Brokis and is in a Cognac glass colour suitable for a wine cellar.
© Justin Alexander
© Edward Birch
© Edward Birch