True North Residence

True North Residence
© John Gollings

TRUE NORTH RESIDENCE

TANDEM Design Studio

BUILDING SURVEYOR
Fotia Group

LAND SURVEYOR
Nacha Moore

MANUFACTURERS
Ambiance Lumiere, Bluescope, Brodware, Classic Ceramics, Intergrain, Miele, Okalux, Plyco

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
Hive Engineering

CARPENTER
Vizbuilt

ARCHITECT
Tim Hill

ARCHITECTURE FIRM
TANDEM Design Studio

PHOTOGRAPHS
John Gollings

AREA
182 m²

YEAR
2016

CATEGORY
Houses

LOCATION
Melbourne, Australia

True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings

Text description provided by architect.

Named after its sunny corner block, True North is a home for TANDEM founder and director Tim Hill and his family.

True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings

This iconic and highly awarded project has become a local landmark due to its distinctive curved form and its appearance on season 6 of Grand Designs Australia.

The sinuous, curved form of the main house transcends the angular constraints of the relatively small, inner urban triangular site.

At the rear of the site, a circa 1880s stables was adaptively reused to create a 1 bedroom townhouse.

True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings

At ground level, the main dwelling contains a sunken lounge, kitchen, dining and double-height atrium within a single volume that provides views into a series of pocket gardens. Bathed in light and incorporating recycled brick and timber finishes, the curved interior warmly embraces its occupants.

Upstairs three pods, accessed by stair and bridge, hover above the living space below., They contain bedrooms and bathrooms, providing private interior space. The exterior features a pleated façade with a lightness reminiscent of a folded cloth.

True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings

It is punctuated by rusted steel hoods, whose deep reveals create private windows. From the angular site to the many challenges of constructing a curved form, this is a project characteristic of a studio with a knack for developing beautiful and functional solutions to tricky design problems.

True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings


True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings
True North Residence
© John Gollings


True North Residence
Ground Floor Plan
True North Residence
First Floor Plan


True North Residence
Elevations
True North Residence
Diagram