It’s Hard to Believe This Sinuous Staircase Is Made of Wood

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Project Details:

Location: Melbourne, Australia

Architect: LLDS / @llds_architecture

Footprint: 880 square feet

Structural Engineer: Bollinger+Grohmann

Civil Engineer: R. I. Brown

Cabinetry Design: Power To Make

Timber Engineer: TGA Engineers

Photographer: Tom Ross / @tomross.xyz

From the Architect: "LLDS has re-conceptualized the Victorian terrace typology in response to the existing urban context to create a compact inner-city house in Melbourne, Australia. Sited on a narrow plot, the main design move was to elevate the ground to form a roof garden to address the lack of garden spaces. The brown roof supports local ecology in an urban context. Below the free-form timber structure is a hall-like room with a kitchen, dining room, and entrance veranda reminiscent of the neighborhood’s large factory lofts and Victorian church halls.

"The ground floor is spatially organized around a circular snug with a central void bringing natural daylight and ventilation to the depth of the house. The snug divides the ground floor into the east and west bedrooms, each with antechambers that function as utilities and en-suites. The stair around the snug creates a dramatic descent into the space, furnished with bespoke upholsteries and dark green velvet curtains; there are no internal doors between rooms to allow the client’s dog to move freely, except for the bathrooms. Dark green was used to complement the timber stairs and lining. The snug is furnished with kangaroo and deer hide, all locally sourced as a by-product of farming. It evokes a sense of primitiveness and contrasts with the raw concrete interior. The east bedroom has a concrete vaulted soffit, which transfers the weight of the roof above. The house is interconnected with three stairs to encourage circular movement and eliminate the need for corridor spaces.

"The east and west façades are designed as trellises for climbing plants, bringing nature into the interior space. The entrance balcony is a natural surveillance of the laneway and neighboring public car park; it is a loosely programmed outdoor veranda borrowing the Japanese ‘Engawa’ concept.

"The project is the architect’s own home. It is tailored to the client’s way of life – a home with a series of pocket-gathering spaces for groups of introverts. The brief also calls for a house that would give back to the city by addressing the interface with the street, a roof and a façade that would support greenery and local ecology. Within the small footprint, the design provides its inhabitants with a variety of spaces and experiences, from a compact kitchen dining space that utilizes the local restaurant and eateries more than encourage home cooking to the double-story snug, which is perfect for resting while enjoying the daylight entering from the skylights above; the front terrace which oversees the local neighborhood offering secure surveillance; the rear private courtyard which includes an outdoor shower; and the rooftop terrace offers impressive views over neighboring rooftops and tree canopies with Mount Macedon in the background."