tribe studio: house milner schmukler

‘house milner schmukler’ by tribe studio in sydney, australia all images courtesy tribe studio photographer: brett boardman

australian practice tribe studio has completed ‘house milner schmukler’, a two-storey family residence in sydney. consisting of a series of hovering boxes, the design negotiates the interior space in the forms of voids and solids.

sitting on a deep and narrow plot, the living space is kept intact and continuous by avoiding the use of full-height walls. the suspended boxes accommodate private programs such as the bedrooms and bathrooms while the more public spaces are defined underneath in the interstitial zones. slices of double height voids create a sense of extension. natural daylighting is also achieved through these openings.

(left) upstairs hallway (right) bedroom

built on a tight budget, the design incorporates an honest material palette as well as industrial construction techniques: the exterior is wrapped in a sheet of metal lined in bracing ply within which the plasterboard boxes hover. the structural concrete floor slab feature in-slab heating/cooling while the operable skylights facilitate cross and stack-effect ventilation.

‘playroom’ box

(left) dining area (right) built-in office space

window seat nook

view of the kitchen

street facade

ground floor plan

longitudinal section

schematic mass model

physical model

project info:

project team: hannah tribe, josephine hurley, aaron murray, tony tribe builder: JLS construction structural engineer: cardno, cosmo farinola