Light and Connected – Bowen House by Neil Architecture

Through a contemporary sensibility, Bowen House emerges as a warm and inviting place of retreat. Neil Architecture opens the new as a connected embrace of the surrounds, orienting the living and shared spaces of the home to capture the natural elements.

The previous iteration of Bowen House felt disconnected and inward facing, disregarding views out over Richmond and Abbotsford. The new home opens once shut off spaces to create a more meaningful connection to context and to open clear visual sightlines beyond the structure itself. Located to the north of Richmond Hill, the resulting residence pulls away a previous addition, re-sculpting the home as measured and purpose driven. Key to the brief was ensuring spaces could be naturally lit and opened for natural ventilation, alongside embedding a warmth through materiality and finish. Neil Architecture balances keeping useful components in place with inserting new elements where necessary through a deliberate lens.

Echoing a familiar warmth associated with traditional family homes, timber is used as a key vertical surface to conceal the joinery elements throughout the home, encasing the interior in a natural texture at the same time.

Ensuring the interventions bled naturally into the surrounds, Bowen House was a collaborative effort between Bacchus Constructions and GrowSPACE. As the existing 1980s renovation was removed, the concrete elements remained in place to avoid the need for additional mass and to reduce waste on site. From a cleared base, the new areas were formed around a central and connected core for living – where the living, kitchen and dining all convene – opening generously to the close landscaped areas and to the views in the distance at both the south and northern edges of the home.

Echoing a familiar warmth associated with traditional family homes, timber is used as a key vertical surface to conceal the joinery elements throughout the home, encasing the interior in a natural texture at the same time. Underfoot, polished concrete runs as a robust and low maintenance base to take the knocks of everyday life whilst also acting as a cooler counter to the timber. The careful integration of courtyard spaces ensures the interior is connected to landscape and greenery from every aspect, emphasising the home as an open and breathing centre for its custodians.

The careful integration of courtyard spaces ensures the interior is connected to landscape and greenery from every aspect, emphasising the home as an open and breathing centre for its custodians.

With purposeful material throughout, Bowen House is crafted using restraint, colour and tactile elements. Neil Architecture has created a home that will last, connecting both interior and exterior, built and natural.