Some things are embedded in architectural history such as the Luytens concept of over-sequencing the approach to a house to enlarge its scale. He acknowledges that it was a ‘dud site with no view so we needed to ramp up the value of what is actually outside’. This house is different from every other project in the book because it is not seeking privacy – rather it seeks to engage with the streetscape through the use of a generous horizontal window and its proximity to the road.
This corner of the main living space says much about the Donovan Hill ‘D’ House. The furniture is built-in and designed with practicality in mind – you can easily sweep under it, use it as an extra bed, bring a dining table close and use it as bench seating. It also has the effect of creating lightness and transparency as you see through to the courtyard beyond. Hill also custom designed the copper wall light situated above the window.
This view into the kitchen captures the soft finish of the set plaster. Many of the materials are honest and unadorned and the shaft of natural lights highlights the ‘wacky patina’ of the wall. The skylight is placed above the threshold of where decisions have to be made and also allows tantalising glimpses of the sky.
