Timber frame

For the majority of home builders the lure of the countryside is founded in the desire of acquiring MORE – building bigger as a general mantra.   However, for a young Berlin couple seeking to build a first home, the limitations of their garden plot required them to take a drastically different approach. How can one relinquish space without relinquishing luxury and functionality? The philosophy of „living large, while living small“, required innovative design. The Berlin based firm 2D+ Architects were hired to provide a solution in maximizing quality while minimizing area. Their approach discarded the typical method of extracting unnecessary program and rather focused on designing an integrated home where all spatial... More

The brief was to design a side extension to replace a dilapidated conservatory. with a new living space / yoga studio. The house is a fairly traditional brick building, built in the late 1990s on a narrow plot. The aim was to give this part of the house a new more generous well lit living space, accessed off the kitchen, improving the house’s connection to its garden. The site is located in Crouch End. It sits adjacent the Parkland Walk, a tree lined pedestrian and cycle route following the course of a disused railway line running between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace. The site is also a conservation area characterised by large Victorian houses interspersed with modern apartment blocks. The aim was to keep the extension low to... More

As a young practice Annabelle Tugby Architects recently outgrew our previous studio and were seeking a new home. From the outset we sought an existing building with character which we could update in a contemporary way.   A semi-derelict former workshop was found with work on the design starting immediately. Card models and computer renders were used in conjunction with hand sketches and CAD to design throughout the process. At an early stage the decision was made to leave the main space whole and to add ancillary spaces in the form of a meeting room and WC as part of a single storey timber frame extension.   A scheme to reuse the building was submitted to planning in spring 2018. The original rendered buildingwhich provides t... More

The ‘Three Trees’ Early Learning Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, embraces a natural approach that focuses on providing children with experiences to learn from and grow within nature. The pedagogy of the centre focuses on “child- centered learning through play that embraces the great outdoors”, and this philosophy has been carried through in the architectural approach to the design of this Early Learning Centre.   The most striking feature of the centre is its sculptural modulating roof. The folding timber geometry works to soften and break up the mass of the building, extending the geometry of the canopy of trees from around the site into the built structure. Timber features as the dominant material throu... More

Located on the flat sand plane of Rose Bay in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, this cottage addition opens up towards a substantial Lilly Pilly tree in the northern rear garden.   The tree, beloved by the client, generated the idea for a camouflaging device: clusters of structural columns, steel down pipes and wooden screen posts concealed their function in the guise of slender tree stems that visually extended the garden realm into the house and out to the street.   These timber ‘stems’, which unify the new and old portions of the house, have outer casings that spin freely, taking their cue from Buddhist prayer wheels dear to the client’s heart.   The pool acts as a keying element between the garden la... More

As a simple gathering place for a small, disparate rural community, economy was the focus for most design decisions. We needed a simple building of ‘maximum value for minimum cost‘, to achieve its low $1,962 per square metre construction rate, which had a lightness and a clear legibility of structure. Flexibility was the overriding principle to address the different needs of the 14 user groups.   A rudimentary character, feel and ‘raw’ aesthetic talked to the values of the rural community and place. Relaxed and comfortable for public meetings, the hall enables the local community to advance its artistic and cultural endeavours in a non-institutional environment. Additional to the ‘normal’ community... More

Andrew Burns Architecture have completed construction of two light weight steel and timber framed lodges in the remote Tasman National Park. Commissioned by leading private tourism operator, Tasmanian Walking Company, the project has been completed in September 2018 and forms a benchmark in the remote tourism sector.   The two Three Capes lodges sit atop spectacular dolorite cliff top sites, up to 300m above the sea, accessed by the newly constructed Three Capes Track. The buildings are designed to play a secondary role to the heroic landscape in which they sit, yet offer a unique guest experience on the edge of this grand natural theatre.   The buildings step gently down the hill, following the natural topography, holding clo... More

Winemaker Charles Smith approached our firm to design a new tasting room and office space that would match his rock and roll style. His approach to wine is captured by his trademark phrase: “It’s just booze – drink it!” The design team, led by Tom Kundig, was inspired by Charles’s in-your-face attitude to create a raw space that highlights the original aesthetics of the building while inserting highly flexible pieces, including a large unit dubbed the Armadillo. The resulting space can transform from an office, tasting room and retail store into a dining and entertainment venue.   Charles Smith Wines is located in downtown Walla Walla in the former Johnson Auto Electric building, constructed in 1917. The... More

A landmark port for traders to sail through the Pearl River Delta, trading commodities sets the design inspiration for InterContinental Guangzhou. Anchoring the lobby space, several semi-private timber framed pods sit randomly yet purposefully on a raised platform in front of a 3-story feature wall made entirely from undulating wooden slats that form familiar vessel shapes. The specialty steak restaurant Char, is a reinterpretation of a rustic southern steakhouse with interiors of classic cowboy elements and feature walls made from a mosaic of cowhide panels. The melding of Guangzhou's rich tapestry, heritage and business culture formed the basis for the nautical interior concept of InterCon Pazhou. More

A two storey side and single storey rear extension to an existing dwelling. The proposals aimed to be sympathetic to the character and appearance of the small Hertfordshire village and fully compliant in terms of local character, design, scale, landscaping and visual impact.   What was the brief?The requirement was for a new highly glazed garden room to view the mature garden throughout the seasons. The family also required additional space in the form of a two storey side extension for a ground floor home-office and a master bedroom suite at first floor . What were the key challenges?The key challenges were to replace the Crittal windows and the timber framed conservatory with modern products as the existing 1950’s detached h... More

The Portland Flatiron building is a timber framed mixed use building sited at the edge of a sloping triangular site in N Portland. The five floor plates will be open loft space of approximately 5,000sf each framed with timber columns and beams, and cross laminated timber floors with concrete topping slabs. Lincoln Barbour The unique triangular geometry and the significant grade change across the site generated the simple diagram of lacing 3 formally independent elevations together, resulting in a weave of bay windows and open space at the corners. Lincoln Barbour In addition to the unique triangular configuration, the site also sits at a directional shift in the city grid of NE Portland. The site has a powerful approach that cre... More

Before the Boom of the family house started, generations have naturally lived under one roof. Now the society moves closer together due to climbing construction and real estate prices. This is an opportunity and a positive process against urban sprawl and to counteract the social isolation.   For private builders, the semi-detached house is a financially and resource-efficient solution for living together under one roof, for compact housing, with due respect for the demands of individual privacy and local conditions. The house is an outstanding example of a young couple taking some risk to contribute to a sustainable development, attractive spatial planning on the highest ecological standards.   In this semi-detached house, th... More

Our clients, David and Anson, wished to make the most of their sun baked rear garden in East London and posed us a spatial puzzle of wishing to move the existing ground floor bathroom without compromising any of the other rooms. We proposed a more Mediterranean style of home to make the most of the glorious aspect together with a radical reorganisation to relocate the bathroom to a new loft extension, extending at ground floor to link the kitchen and dining spaces and refurbishing the whole house in addition.   We cut away the corners of the building at ground floor and inserted glazing to link the inside with the terrace and garden beyond and although our clients desired highly glazed spaces, they did not want to overheat or fe... More

At the foot of Mt. Parnassus, a paternal residence revives decades of history. Stone-built, dark and mysterious, it restores experiences and memories. This building featured some kind of state monopoly, in the form that the latter used to have in Greece four decades ago. Dozens of traders would arrive there on a daily basis to purchase alcohol, matches, oil, cardboard, and salt.   Today, forty years later, the dwelling is taking the form of a residence – museum, aiming to both offer accommodation and host an exhibition of collectibles. Consequently, the “monopoly” feature is revived as a place of reminiscence. Rich in attributes, enthralled by associations, subconsciously present. Registered in human memories, it be... More