Cohesive and Enduring – Cremorne Point Apartment by Studioplusthree

Cremorne Point Apartment is a study of light, timelessness and endurance. Studioplusthree combines measured restraint with a classical approach to form- making to create a home that is cohesive, considered and connected as an enviable outpost on the adjacent harbour.

Woven into the harbourside locale of Sydney’s Cremorne Point, the renovation of the apartment of the same name was driven by the direction of its previously inward-focused spaces to better connect to its site and enviable outlook. Once a wearied, ill-conceived 1980s build, the stagnated and complicated layout needed to be brought together under a considered vision. Home to a retiring couple, the emphasis for the design was to inject a sense of clarity to the space, with increased and concealed storage and an ease of movement and circulation connecting each of the new zones. Studioplusthree takes a classical approach to the project, bringing a sense of formality and rigor into the plan and proposing a home founded on enduring and considered ideologies.

Built by Laylock Construction, the generously proportioned apartment sits across 180sqm, but this area was previously severely underutilised. Through an opening up of the existing plan and a reconfiguration of each of its comprising spaces, Cremorne Point Apartment is given a new life. Completely disconnected from its natural positioning to the adjacent harbour, redirection toward these vistas was a priority. Imagined as a place of calm, the generous internal layout and replanning sees a better use of the apartment’s rare generous floor area. The resulting home is hinged around a central core, clad in muted timber panels, as the anchoring base for amenity around which all other living functions pivot. Around the central circulation loop, the living, dining and sleeping areas are arranged based on active and passive qualities and their inter-relation to one another.

The restraint in palette further emphasises the sense of calm and cohesion and allows the access to natural light permeate further and deeper into each of the encompassing spaces. There is a clear defining and connecting element in this home – one of a confident vision and minimal palette. The extensive use of American oak, which clads the central core and is used for flooring, wall coverings and joinery, is complemented by a series of neutral tones in plastered textured walls and stone benchtops. Similarly, the custom and considered selected furniture and artwork reinforces the same sense of calm as the palette and planning.

Cremorne Point Apartment beautifully retrofits an existing and underutilised series of spaces and, through its cohesive and unified approach, results in an apartment of generous proportions, infused with an honest calmness. Studioplusthree redefines the contemporary and enduring apartment vernacular to create a subtle and sensitive home.