Campbell Street by Campbell Architecture

Overlooking the blue-green waters of Lane Cove River in Northern Sydney is Campbell Street by Campbell Architecture and Arent&Pyke. Located on a sloping site with views to the bushland surrounding Riverview College and Tambourine Bay, this five-storey family home offers its inhabitants the dual joy of inner-city living within proximity to nature.

The clients, longtime residents of Hunters Hill with two teenage sons, envisaged a spacious, calming and practical family home that would allow them to host extended family and entertain large groups. They were drawn to this peaceful site – an amalgamation of two smaller sites – for its superb views, twin mooring facilities and private yet convenient location.

Combining the two sites and maximising its potential underpinned Campbell Architecture’s response, which is ultimately defined by a series of U-shaped forms that follow the contours of the land.

“Hunters Hill is becoming a specialist area of ours, having done four other nearby properties,” says architect Jonathan Plant. “We were recommended to the owners by two other clients of ours, both of whom we have done work for on the same Lane Cove River stretch of the Hunters Hill waterfront.”

Combining the two sites and maximising its potential underpinned Campbell Architecture’s response, which is ultimately defined by a series of U-shaped forms that follow the contours of the land. Anchored to the hillside at the rear, these forms wrap a private core of terraces, the result of which gives this home its dynamic shape. Plant describes it as “a series of pavilions anchored to a solid castle wall, cascading down to the riverfront.”

“Visually overlapping the spaces with a hint of what’s beyond works to expand the spaces in all directions, in what is quite a compact floorplate.”

The program is thoughtfully arranged across the levels, allowing for a flexible series of spaces and room for the clients and their boys to “spread out”. Entry is on the third level; a tree-lined driveway leads visitors to the front door where tantalising views over the river and the skyline unfurl. Also on this level is the primary suite and terrace – a sanctuary for the clients, particularly when hosting – and above, there is a guest suite and terrace.

Shared living spaces are on the level below. “This living level acts a series of interconnecting spaces,” says Plant. “Visually overlapping the spaces with a hint of what’s beyond works to expand the spaces in all directions, in what is quite a compact floorplate.” A central courtyard is a place of respite from the waterside glare, and the living and dining spaces can be opened, closed or shaded in various ways, “allowing the residents to control the feel of the spaces depending on the environment and mood.”

The practice’s guiding ethos for architecture that is calm, refined and enduring certainly rings true at Campbell Street.

The lower level contains the kids’ bedrooms, a games room and a gym. “Separated from the parents’ suite by the living floor, the teenagers can be rowdy without disturbance,” comments Plant. Hijinks aside, these spaces have been afforded the same architectural consideration; the games room and gym have easy access to the garden, pool and waterfront, and large pivot windows in the bedrooms are both functional and playful – the kids can climb through the openings into the garden or sit on the deep sills while reading or listening to music.

The practice’s guiding ethos for architecture that is calm, refined and enduring certainly rings true at Campbell Street. Though highly detailed and generous in size, it sits quietly and sturdily within the landscape, responding to its context through its considered materiality and form. Sandstone, dark stained timber cladding, limestone and stainless steel coalesce with the native landscaping, settling the home into the hillside, and attention has been paid to incorporating non-reflective surfaces to minimise the effects of light bouncing off the water’s surface. Inside, interiors conceived by Arent&Pyke feature a muted Australian palette, which similarly works to absorb light, creating an enveloping and emotive effect.

The final, almost hidden, jewel of the property is the ‘river room’ or, as the clients fondly refer to it, the ‘hobbit hole’, on the lowest level. Housing all the facilities for waterside entertaining, including a bar and a barbecue, it facilitates effortless hosting around the pool and on the dock. It’s also a supremely relaxing spot to sit and watch life on the water unfold – an element that is as integral to this home as the life lived within its walls.

Architecture by Campbell Architecture. Interior design by Arent & Pyke. Landscape Design by Spirit Level.