Animated Retreat – Mirror Image by Smac Studio and Van Rooijen Meyers Architects

Dotted with moments of unexpected delight, Mirror Image activates the traditional residential typology through an animation of colour and tone. Smac Studio and Van Rooijen Meyers Architects combine to craft a home of considered detail and refinement, capturing the personalities of those who live there.

As a unique sculpting of a private residence in Dover Heights, Mirror Image takes inspiration from its residents, conjuring a home of their own desired immersion. Reminiscent in parts of a hospitality or retail venue with its use of colour, the resulting home paves its own path, embedding character and charm whilst remaining conversant as a welcoming home. The balancing of the more saturated areas with the more structured and familiar ensures the functionality of the spaces remain whilst sharing in a sense of identity.

Reminiscent in parts of a hospitality or retail venue with its use of colour, the resulting home paves its own path, embedding character and charm whilst remaining conversant as a welcoming home.

Mirror Image is the result of considering the entire site and how each element intersects. The home is spread over two levels with layered spaces that express materiality and contrast. Whilst structural limitations presented their own challenges along the way, the interplay of light and the use of reflective elements and layered transparency ensure the home feels generous and enlarged. Looking to tested appropriations of limited spaces, inspiration comes from Europe, as well as the integration of mirrored elements and the combination of materials within the home’s palette.

The naming of Mirror Image takes its meaning from both the use of mirrors and reflective surfaces, and from its mirrored spatial arrangement of its neighbour. Although the home is its own unique series of spaces, the arrangement itself in its fundamental state shares a mirrored image with the adjoining dwelling. Wanting to emanate the feeling of being within a hotel, rich textures and patterns are interwoven throughout whilst using accent lighting, furniture and stone in various forms and tones to elevate and heighten the everyday. Each room becomes a destination, either from an engrained and lively feel or, alternatively, as a place of recession.

The naming of Mirror Image takes its meaning from both the use of mirrors and reflective surfaces, and from its mirrored spatial arrangement of its neighbour.

Combining a crafted approach, Mirror Image becomes a layered and complex series of spaces that celebrate detail and colour. Smac Studio and Van Rooijen Meyers Architects combine to ensure a playful vein runs through and connects the home in its entirety.