WAF 2011 best house small house by domenic alvaro

‘small house’ by domenic alvaro, surry hills, sydney, australia all images courtesy of woods bagot image © trevor mein

architect domenic alvaro of international practice woods bagot has received the world architecture festival award for best house of 2011 for ‘small house’, a single family residence in surry hills, sydney, australia. constrained within a 7 meter by 6 meter footprint, this ultra compact site contains the functional rooms of the dwelling within the vertical airspace above the size of a typical suburban garage. the program is divided between the five levels with private areas placed within a windowless exterior at the ground level and public spaces are offered abundant natural daylight at the upper floors. the main entry contains a garage with stairs leading to the master bedroom and bath on the first floor. the cantilevered steel steps lead inhabitants to the kitchen at the second floor, generating a circular movement around the space to a matching open riser stairway to access the successive living area. a study area at the roof terrace is enclosed with glass and may be spatially joined to the vegetation with a boundary of sliding doors.

the vertical circulation becomes a focal element as well as a ventilation chasm, helping cross winds through the windows and introducing light into the lower and darker areas. proximity to the nearby buildings enforces the feeling of urban living while the positioning of penetrations within the concrete exterior maintains its sense of privacy. the city location encourages dwellers to use public transportation for work and presents a successful typological solution to suburban sprawl without exceeding the cost of a city apartment.

side elevationimage © trevor mein

(left) front elevation (right) view building from the opposite corner images © trevor mein

view of roof terrace form neighboring structures image © trevor mein

kitchen image © trevor mein

stairs leading from kitchen to living area image © trevor mein

living area image © trevor mein

stairs to upper level roof terrace image © trevor mein

(left) stair detail (right) stairs leading to roof terrace images © trevor mein

roof terrace image © trevor mein

roof terrace image © trevor mein

roof terrace image © trevor mein

roof terrace at night image © trevor mein

ground level stairway image © trevor mein

(left) stair motif begins at the ground level (right) stairs to first levelimages © trevor mein

(left) first level bathroom (right) corridor images © trevor mein

at nightimage © trevor mein

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

floor plan / level 3

floor plan / level 4

elevation

exploded axon

project info:

project: small house (alvaro residence) location: surry hills, sydney architect: domenic alvaro landscape architect: 360 degrees builder: baseline constructions structural engineer: waterman sydney precast: hanson precast photographer: trevor mein