Kensington Lighthouse by Tandem Design Studio in Melbourne, Australia

November 19th, 2009 - Posted in Architecture

The Kensington Lighthouse was designed by Tandem Design Studio, Located in Melbourne, Australia. a house with a wooden interior. The Kensington Lighthouse is situated on a 160m2 strip of land between a former factory and its kitchen in a dense, mixed-use inner city context. To the north, the neighbouring house presents a 4m high wall overshadowing the site. North facing sunshells were created to capture and reflect natural light; articulated by exposed timber portal frames lined with veneered plywood panels. On the exterior, the shells were clad in a lightweight metal skin of dark grey and deep blue corrugated metal; creating the roof and south façade. On the north, west and east patterns of double glazed glass and translucent polycarbonate panels frame views and admit light while preserving privacy – the translucent skin capturing shadows of nearby trees, the variance of clouds passing overhead and filtering light to the interior. The house is made from two sunshells connected around a courtyard – with a solitary coral bark maple – by a rectangular timber lined volume running the length of the north boundary. Floating above a polished concrete platform; the west sunshell shelters entry, lounge, kitchen, double height dining space on the lower level – and study, guest bed and bathroom on the mezzanine. Floating above a polished concrete platform; the west sunshell shelters entry, lounge, kitchen, double height dining space on the lower level – and study, guest bed and bathroom on the mezzanine.

Kensington Lighthouse by Tandem Design Studio in Melbourne, Australia

Concertina doors open from the master bedroom and dining room across the courtyard; creating a series of continuously linked open platforms in summer. To the west; 3 pivot doors connect the lounge to the front garden while creating privacy from the street.

Wooden Interior Design

Opening windows – on the lower, southern façade of the sunshells, and the upper northern glazed face – regulate naturally occurring ventilation across the shells; and combine with thermal mass of the heated concrete slab to control temperature and ventilation.”