Architecture
Modern Architecture
Sculptural Modern Homes Throw Architecture Some Curves
Curvy profiles, roofs and interiors make these modern Australian homes straight-up stunning
According to a statement on its website, Australia's Dale Jones-Evans Architecture produces "'multivalent architecture' — architecture which integrates sculptural and painterly space with environmental and contextual performance." To put it another way, its buildings are influenced by many factors, such as how they relate to natural and man-made contexts and how they integrate sustainable architecture. Yet what stands out most are the sculptural aspects of the designs, a veering from the orthogonal that is especially evident in the residences. This ideabook looks at four of the firm's houses, focusing on how the sculptural forms are carried from outside to inside.
The Mound House greets people as a copper-clad wall perched upon a garage. The steep slope of the landscape is evident, more so than the curve of the roof.
From the back of the house the curved profile is clear, but it's actually a double curve, like a two-humped camel. The solidity of the front wall gives way to this slatted wall on the rear, which faces the pool and retaining wall.
The roof's curves can be found inside, rendered in white drywall.
The Sydney Harbour House No. 1 also greets people at the garage with its curved forms, but here it goes in the other direction. Rounded corners and a roof slope hint at what happens beyond.
The garage extends back to another volume, also covered in copper, a conical form that houses an office. Both are above orthogonal walls that actually follow the footprint of the previous house on the site (most likely the foundation was reused).
The bridge is a great approach to the house, one that takes in the expansive sky. The roof cuts a great profile against the blue and the clouds.
As with the Mound House, the curve of the roof is felt inside, yet it's rendered in white drywall. The curved walls make a nice backdrop for these vertical sculptures.
Elsewhere in the house, curves appear as rounded corners. This is hardly an inexpensive option, but it is one that makes a noticeable difference.
Like the previous examples, the Folded House has copper roofing, but as the name indicates, the sculptural forms are angular rather than smooth. On the pool side, the roof angles up to let more light inside and to visually connect inside and outside.
But on the other side of the house, the roof comes down toward the ground, actually meeting it beside a wide and low opening.
Back on the pool side, this glimpse from the outside reveals some interesting things happening with the ceiling inside.
This view from inside shows how the roof opens up the visual connection between the interior and the pool, but we can also see the inverse shape of the roof, again covered in white drywall. Yet the profile in the right foreground is quite different, curved instead of angular.
One last look at the Folded House shows how the curved ceiling relates to the wood bar below it, as if they are both part of one form that is cut in the middle.
The last project from Dale Jones-Evans is the Roozen residence, which takes advantage of a dramatic site by cantilevering one volume.
The cantilevered volume is covered in the architect's favorite material, copper.
The prow-like form gives the house its sculptural quality while providing shade, opening up the view and directing one's gaze to the horizon.