Modest Yet Bold – Prospect Tce by The Artificial
Peeking out modestly from its streetscape frontage, Prospect Tce engages with its steeply sloping site with seeming ease as it opens up to the generous views. The Artificial carefully navigates a challenging site and its contingent restraints to create an intuitively responsive, low-impact and uniquely indefinable home.
Set amongst the many character and heritage-rich homes in Brisbane’s Hamilton, Prospect Tce sits both humbly and considerately as it offers a deceiving single-story frontage upon entry. Spread over five levels as the structure maximises the potential of the site, the home opens up on each level to its spanning outward views, offering both a visual connection and, through the extension of the horizontal floor planes, an extension of the lived space into the many open terraces. The Artificial combines a responsive approach with a bold gestural presence to create a unique identity for the home while still working within the challenging height and massing restraints of the site.
Spread over five levels as the structure spreads and maximises the potential of the site, the home opens up on each level to its spanning outward views, offering a visual connection through the extension of the horizontal floor planes.
Built by Zephyr Industries (who is also the client and worked in collaboration with The Artificial on the interior design) with landscape by Larc Collective, the natural and the built come together on each level offering a balance to one another and creating meaningful connections beyond the building envelope. Although spread over five storeys as the resulting home follows the natural fall of the site, each is never more than the required two or three levels about the natural ground at any one time. A home of two faces in some respects, the street frontage is deliberately modest, while opening up to its hidden grand proportions to the rear. With views toward the city and the river, the openness created connects the home to its address while allowing the engulfing of the surrounding vistas.
Comprised of exposed off-form concrete, rendered masonry, glass and charred and natural timber elements, the composition of the home reflects a similar balance to its relationship with its landscape. Both the natural timber and the harder, more weighted elements offer a counter to the other and act to create a sense of relief. Internally, a similar restrained, linear approach is taken, matching the concrete slab banding that occurs across each of the levels. A sense of connection is inherent in each of the spaces, emphasised by an openness. The use of a darker palette of timber, concrete and stone conjures a sense of warmth against the open glass elements, providing an embracing and warm feel.
Prospect Tce utilises the challenges of its site to its clear gain as the home follows and works with the land’s natural elements instead of rebelling against them. The Artificial has used simplicity conceived the form through a contemporary lens to propose a home of familiar warmth and unexpected moments of openness.
A home of two faces in some respects, the street frontage is deliberately modest, while opening up to its hidden grand proportions to the rear.
The use of a darker palette of timber, concrete and stone conjure a sense of warmth against the open glass elements, providing an embracing and warm feel.
The Artificial have used simplicity and a formality through a contemporary lens, to propose a home of familiar warmth and unexpected moments of openness.
Built by Zephyr Industries (as the client as well in collaboration for the Interior design) with landscape by Larc Collective, the natural and the built come together on each level offering a balance to one another and creating meaningful connections beyond the build envelope.
