Tasked with creating an urban oasis on a small block in a densely populated area, connecting to the street and community while maintaining privacy for the residents was key. Nine-Square Bondi is a reflection of the client’s global and creative mindset, incorporating influences of time spent living in Hong Kong, their eclectic collection of art and love of Brazilian Brutalist houses.
The core concept was to draw on their individuality but also to embrace and reflect the unique character of the Bondi Beach locality: casual, communal, colourful, imperfect and unadorned. Our philosophy was to bring Bondi’s freedom of spirit into the design process and to question the accepted conventions of house composition. Our open-minded clients were prepared to let go of typical compositions of a home and replace them with philosophies around family and community life: and the same curiosity, joy and individuality is evident from the home’s language of interiors. Central to the approach was the idea that the entire top level could transform into a single outdoor room. We tested the limits of this 3x3 grid so that it opens up to northern sunlight, versatile, interconnected living spaces and uplifting gardens via an upper level courtyard.
Sitting between 4–5 storey apartment buildings and single dwelling houses, the transparency of the design provides a legible and relatable façade to the public domain. Its heavy concrete base draws on the Brutalist brief and contains bedrooms and a single garage. The concrete spiral stair rising from the entry hall is a visible sculpture from the street. The lighter structure on the top floor, containing art-filled living spaces and gardens, diminishes the upper bulk of the dwelling and offers a visually interesting semi-private layer. The living areas’ outlook into the street trees provide ‘eyes on the street’ and dialogue with the public realm.
The client’s personal interiors collection from their present and past lives reflect inwardly and back to the street through the colourful and playful collection of art, furniture and heirlooms. The layering of the home’s secluded base, and partially opaque upper level mirrors a wider layering of different places and influences which speak through the interiors. Bondi is the of course dominant as boundaries between outside and inside dissolve with the open structure design, but South America, Asia, even flavours of LA, are tangible in this home of well-travelled inhabitants where courtyard gardens and trees lining the street become part of the interiorscape.
In the client’s words: “Flipping the layout initially felt challenging but this bold design supports the natural rhythms of our beach-side days. Upstairs, we live expansively by the sun, overlooking the trees and flooded by natural light. The central courtyard provides space and depth between living areas and we feel connected through the layers of glass even when engaged in our different activities. In the evening we retreat downstairs where it is more protected and cosier. Amongst the bustle of Bondi, our home feels like a sanctuary where the boundaries between inside and out are blurred by luscious greenery. We couldn’t be happier.”
Nine-Square Bondi contributes to and engages in both a spirited and serene way with its context, embracing the notion that the public realm is one of the great attributes of the private site. Text description by the architects.
