Description: Private Residence
Location: O'Connor, ACT
Year: 2016
Status: Complete
Photos: Aarthi Ayyar-Biddle
SAWTOOTH HOUSE, COMMENDATION - RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE - HOUSES (NEW), AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS ACT CHAPTER 2018
Sawtooth House is a secondary residence for a young family in an established North Canberra suburb. Inspired by the clients’ love of industrial architecture, the house is arranged as a series of pavilions providing direct access to a deck and the rear garden.
Its design takes advantage of recent changes to the ACT’s secondary residence planning framework, which allows for the construction of a secondary dwelling of up to 90 sqm. The planning of living and bedroom spaces within this limit was resolved by economising on circulation space and extending living areas to outdoor deck and courtyard spaces, and an outdoor shower and bath open to the sky.
The dwelling provides separation and contrast from the existing residence at the front of the block, while a shared garden between the two houses provides a space for social connection between the two residences, which can accommodate a flexibility of living arrangements.