Composed Calm – Curl Curl House by Nobbs Radford Architects

Set back from a busy thoroughfare to create and enhance the feeling of retreat, Curl Curl House draws together material elements to form a place of calm and sanctuary. Nobbs Radford Architects proposes a home of balanced composure, where minimal details and junctions are conceived through a considered restraint.

As a quiet addition to the streetscape, Curl Curl House comes together as a considered arrangement of parts, becoming cohesive through a muted palette. Located in the northern beaches of Sydney, the multi-level home weaves together natural elements to create a buffer from the streetscape. Wrapping around an open central courtyard space, the home is arranged to engage with sunlight, air and foliage as much as possible. With operable design elements allowing a free flow of movement throughout the internal volumes, the inside naturally connects with the outside spaces, as requested by the owners. Nobbs Radford Architects pulls inspiration from the familiar coastal aesthetic, creating a home of textures and subtleties to ensure longevity and lasting relevance.

Wrapping around an open central courtyard space, the home is arranged to engage with sunlight, air and foliage as much as possible.

As a reflection of its context, Curl Curl House imbues a measured lightness and sees an inspired approach to materiality and openness. With a palette of cool and muted grey and white elements, the home comes together through the introduction of texture. Built by Chase Projects, the home is spread over two levels, seeing a deliberate openness connect living spaces. With boundaryless transitions to the outdoors and softened landscape edges, outward views instil a feeling of being immersed in nature. By opening the home at its centre, the space’s focus turns inward to create a meditative space that is a respite from a busy streetscape.

From the street, a selection of plantings lines the edge of the site, setting the building back form the thoroughfare and creating a living, protective barrier between the home and the outside world. The gesture also aims to absorb incoming sound in the process. From the outset, the home feels removed and restful, as a reflection of how the owners wanted to live, where linear planes accentuate a flattening and calmness. The use of repetition across the façade and internal screening elongates the form whilst also creating a banded feel, breaking down the overall mass of the home.

By opening the home at its centre, the space’s focus turns inward to create a meditative space that is a respite from a busy streetscape.

Curl Curl House brings together a softness, both in the way the home engages with the landscape and its materiality. Through restraint, Nobbs Radford Architects has created an ideal reprieve from the world, encasing residents in a shared serenity.