Inwardly Secure – Keep House by BKK Architects

Words by Bronwyn Marshall
Architecture by BKK Architects
Photography by Tom Blachford
Interior Design by BKK Architects
Landscape Design by Haydn Barling Landscapes

Imagined as a forever home, Keep House forms deep roots to its site and community. BKK Architects references the traditional form of a castle, creating privacy through expertly placed openings and the ideal solution to an exposed corner allotment.

Keep House balances the challenge of privacy whilst optimising a connection to the surrounds. The owners aspired to create a series of spaces that would grow and evolve as they did, echoing their current desires and personalities as well. From the expressive chimney feature and atypical placement of the second storey to the breaking up of the overall mass through use of differing materiality, the final design was derived from several influences. BKK Architects creates a unique insertion into the streetscape, focusing on how the spaces feel and interact with one another.

BKK Architects creates a unique insertion into the streetscape, focusing on how the spaces feel and interact with one another.

The wedge formation of the site presented its own challenges; a certain rigour was needed in the design process to address this. The rear yard takes its shape from the apex of the site, allowing the home to feel structured and aligned with the streetscape. Through this, Keep House explores how landscape design connects to the notion of privacy, with Haydn Barling Landscapes using living design to provide an important connection to nature and private seclusion.

A relationship with the wider environment formed an important part of the brief. The ways that the home opens to the parklands and aims to echo the expanse within its site is evidenced through the layering and embedding of botanical features. The home’s formation gathers around a central courtyard space that then flows through to the rear garden, allowing natural light, ventilation and intuitive movement.

The home’s formation gathers around a central courtyard space that then flows through to the rear garden, allowing natural light, ventilation and intuitive movement.

Keep House By Bkk Architects Project Feature The Local Project Image (7)

Contained within the one encasing form, an intentional design approach shaped the foundation of Keep House. BKK Architects prioritises creating a unique experience within the home, reflecting the whims and tastes of its occupants whilst being an example of cutting-edge architectural design.