Amongst the Landscape – Earl Parade by Cavill Architects
Responding to the clients’ desire for a home that actively engages with lush landscaping, Cavill Architects has created an efficient residence for a young family. Unfurling from within, this home is carefully integrated and at one with its subtropical setting.
As keen gardeners with childhood memories of backyards and time spent outdoors, the clients approached the architects with a strong narrative regarding landscape; creating a connection to nature was essential to the experience of the finished home. In acknowledging this, alongside the home’s location in Brisbane’s bayside suburb of Manly, the architects have drawn on architectural elements typical to the area, but with a unique slant. With interiors by Connors and Co. and landscaping by Dan Young Landscape Architect, a sense of openness is prevalent inside and out, strengthening the story of this home as one traverses the space.
In direct response to the brief, the architects designed an internal garden. Conceived as a two-storey volume with lush planting framed within fixed joinery, it is incredibly generous in scale and impact. There is an abundance of greenery, natural light and views to the sky, yet it is a protected sanctuary. This green space sits as the main element of the home, greeting guests as they arrive and offering a spot to pause.
The underlying principles of the home represent a sustainable core, with open and operable elements which allow the home to breathe and respond to its context. Built by Concord Built, Earl Parade is located on the southern edge of the site, yielding a significant north-easterly façade and optimising natural light. This aspect also captures the north-easterly sea breeze from nearby Waterloo Bay. The lush garden provides screening and permeability, enhancing the concept of simultaneous connection and privacy.
With budget a core objective alongside sustainability, an inbuilt efficiency underpins each design decision. The resulting spaces celebrate thoughtfulness, with an integrated flexibility and an appropriateness in scale. By focussing on intent and liveability, this home emerges as a custom volumetric expression of the clients’ daily rituals. Natural timber adds warmth and connection to the natural environment, while white painted elements are the ideal backdrop for the organic silhouettes and colouring of the extensive planting.
