A Cohesive Approach – Balmoral House II by Popov Bass

As an homage to interactive light and the interplay with materiality, Balmoral House II brings disparate elements of its sloping site together through a cohesive approach. Popov Bass combines a balanced and muted methodology to create meaningful connections between the interior and exterior experience.

Nestled into its stepped and sloping site in its namesake inner Sydney suburb, Balmoral House II is an exercise in cohesion and balance. Responding to inherited conditions, the brief called for on-grade access, and in order to achieve this the previously rear-oriented home needed to be brought forward to abut the street front. While also bringing elements together, at the core of the new works is an expression of lifestyle, where key connections are made between the inside and out, allowing for an eased flow between the two and embracing its natural aspects. As an interplay between light and its comprising materials, the resulting home carefully balances natural illumination with textural and warming moments. Popov Bass has used both a controlled and refined approach to conjure a home where landscape and building support one another in piloting the site.

As an interplay between light and its comprising materials, the resulting home carefully balances natural illumination with textural and warming moments.

Built by 3Corp, with custom concrete formwork by Concrete Revival Group, Balmoral House II sits on a minimal footprint, while making an efficient use of its slightness. There is an inherent ease and casualness deliberately intertwined into the home, encapsulating the indoor/outdoor lifestyle typical of Sydney and prioritised by its owners. The home’s siting is unique in that on either edge, the terrain slopes upward creating a bowl-like shape with a valley in the centre. Navigating this unusual topography and bringing the rear dwelling together with a new form that addressed the street meant the creation of two distinct zones – the pool pavilion and the home itself. The pool pavilion aides as a support for the landscaped garden space and takes materiality cues from the natural elements that surround it. The resulting form incorporates sandstone and spotted gum timber, while still connecting to the main dwelling.

As the home makes its way across its sloping site, the home is spread over six stories, each anchoring the home to the terrain. The entry experience is celebrated through the central stair that connects each of the levels, while the levels themselves create a natural separation and hierarchy within the home. The master bedroom sits atop the floors, while other areas trickle down. Throughout, a familiar vein of natural light is shared, where skylights punctuate the horizontal plane and allow light deep into the interior, both offering a connection and individual engagement with light. A palette of soft and muted greens and neutrals further connects the levels, while timber and brass details warm and add an element of refinement. The off-form concrete terrace follows the lines within the sloping site and offers a private outdoor space while also visually connecting to the landscape and pavilion structure below.

A palette of soft and muted greens and neutrals further connects the levels, while timber and brass details warm and add an element of refinement.

Balmoral House II considerately responds to its site with a deliberate rigor and through its select materiality offers a calm and reclusive escape. Popov Bass creates a sense of connection both within the bounding edges of the site and to the entry and street through a considered and unified approach.

Balmoral House II considerately responds to its site with a deliberate rigor and through its select materiality offers a calm and reclusive escape.

Throughout, a familiar vein of natural light is shared, where skylights punctuate the horizontal plane and allow light deep into the interior, both offering a connection and individual engagement with light.

While also bringing elements together, at the core of the new works is an expression of lifestyle, where key connections are made between the inside and out, allowing for an eased flow between the two and embracing its natural aspects.

Navigating this unusual topography and bringing the rear dwelling together with a new form that addressed the street meant the creation of two distinct zones – the pool pavilion and the home itself.

The pool pavilion aides as a support for the landscaped garden space and takes materiality cues from the natural elements that surround it.