Sutherland House

The Sutherland house is restrained in its use of materiality and mass. However, the creation of separate pavilions, their attendant courtyards and a jutting louvred jawline all strive to wrap the building around the perimeter of a small site to achieve privacy and outlook.

The residence, set among more traditional homes, introduces a different typology – that of a compact contemporary house that makes the most of its restricted site. The client’s simple brief called for a large, open-plan living area with good outdoor connections; a separate office; master suite; and two additional bedrooms. The resultant strategy was to create a contemporary house with a restricted palette of light-coloured natural materials that would form a simple gallery-like background for their day-to-day living.

Potential long views, available from north to south, informed planning decisions, which also sought to maximise the allowable area of building on the site. A two-storey living/sleeping volume crouches adjacent to the driveway and eastern boundary, double-height in part, with two single-storey pavilions aligned at its western edge. These (the office and study) provide discrete day rooms for the occupants, who then share the main living space and the courtyard formed between them. A 2m high block wall contains the perimeter.

White plastered blockwork is combined with charcoal coloured panelised cladding, carefully composed to provide the requisite enclosure with legible formal strategies remaining evident from the street.

An open-minded client, a commitment to contemporary architectural language, the careful use of natural materials, precise planning and detailing, and an expansion of the brief into landscaping and lighting all contributed to a successful result.