The Pool House: Mosman, Sydney
 

The design is a contemporary building that plays on the ideas of opposites - light and dark, solidity and flow, natural and created, heavy and light, hard and soft, textured and smooth, (yin and yang), and public and private.

A concrete wall serves as a ‘spine’ that is the lynchpin for the rest of the building. The ‘spine’ emerges from the ground at the front boundary and extends the full length of the building where it once again returns to the ground. The spine, in some places, forms part of the structural support for the upper storey, while in other places is merely a change in floor surface denoting a change in space.

The solidity and hardness of the spine is offset by the flow and softness of the Lap Pool – the water element – which runs adjacent the spine and protrudes internally (in the form of a shallow water feature). The ‘opposites’ (yin and yang) are the complementary aspects of balance.

The living spaces each relate to three very different external spaces – the front Terrace, the internalised side Courtyard, and the traditional back yard. Throughout the design there is a concerted effort to establish walled planter gardens, which assist in bringing the ‘outside’ inside, and which soften the external appearance of the building and incorporate the building itself into the landscape.

The concrete ‘spine’ contrasts with the other construction materials – rendered walls, metal sheeting, timber, steel and glass. Of equal importance, although traditionally not viewed as “construction materials”, are the landscape elements, planting and water. These elements further bind the building within the landscape.

Functionally, the design provides a new three-bedroom home (with an additional Study) and three Bathrooms as well as a Kitchen, Living Room, Lounge, Dining, and Laundry. A Garage is located at the front of the site (with parking for two cars) in the location of the existing garage. A Workshop and storage area is also combined with the proposed Garage. Extensive landscape works are also involved across the whole site including the Lap Pool that integrates with a water feature within the proposed house.

The Clients sought a design which was “outside the square”, and which would cater to their needs both now, and in the future. The design focus creates a building that sits within its landscape and will continually provide its occupants with interest and joy.

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