Abstract Ambience – Hampton II by Architecture Works

Creating abstract forms with contemporary materials, Architecture Works’ Hampton II brings an Edwardian weatherboard successfully into the 21st Century.

Along with a brief to extend the heritage home, accommodating a family of five who love to entertain, Architecture Works was challenged to integrate contemporary concrete and glass forms which the family, who were return clients, favoured. Adding to this were the constraints of heritage guidelines. Yet from these specifications comes a harmonious building with vignettes around every corner that feel akin to large scale abstract artworks

There is a sense of balance between the elements at play: linear concrete, lush greenery and intricately detailed timber fretwork.

From the street, it is clear something unexpected hides behind the traditional façade, with concrete steps that float, apparently weightlessly, up to the beautifully maintained weatherboard home. Concrete slabs create a path around the house, meticulously ascending and descending through the soft and bushy garden by Adlib Farming. There is a sense of balance between the elements at play: linear concrete, lush greenery and intricately detailed timber fretwork.

It is at the back of the house where the contemporary completely takes hold, with glass walls and concrete roof constructed in considered proportions all making up pieces of the whole. Even the pool seems to lend its glassy surface to the ensemble, reflecting the house back up to itself. The exterior surfaces are finished in black and white, a timeless choice, repeated throughout the home’s interior.

The exterior surfaces are finished in black and white, a timeless choice, repeated throughout the home’s interior.

Inside, the existing floor plan has been rearranged, giving way to an open living area with a Cheminees Philippe fireplace as the focal point. Again, black and white finishes are in crisp contrast. The back area of the house has been elevated to enable western bay views, however, with this outlook came the harsh afternoon sun. To counter this, without losing views or compromising on design, Architecture Works installed 3.5-metre-long over-sailing roofs, sheltering the internal spaces and creating a covered outdoor living area. Also installed were external motorised venetian blinds. These not only allow the inhabitants’ control over light and privacy but they also cast striking shadows across the room, layering consistent lines over honed grey limestone floors.

In the kitchen, white joinery frames the dark stone splash back, while black joinery houses the appliances and other functional components. This sleek monochrome room is tempered by an expansive, solid recycled messmate kitchen island bench. Natural surfaces are again used in the bedroom, with a custom designed timber bedhead.

What perhaps feels furthest in time from the charming Edwardian front of this home is the helical stair, which is bold, elegant and undeniably modern. The staircase admits light and casts shadows in a new way from every vantage point, calling to mind a James Turrell installation. It seems at once dramatically fluid and peaceful.

As the staircase dances through light and space, it pulls together the threads of this home – black and white in balance with natural forms and finishes, light and reflection countering strong lines and smooth surfaces, form and function working in harmony.