A Hidden Gem – Studio Elroy by LINTEL Studio

Tucked into the lower-ground floor of a home in Manly, a beachside suburb of Sydney, Studio Elroy is a hidden gem and a testament to the creativity born out of limitation. Within a mere 26 square metres, LINTEL Studio for Architecture presents a delightful new possibility for a traditionally utilitarian space, marrying an intelligent floor plan with an experimental colour palette. The result is an ode to inspired living, on any scale.

Studio Elroy was the very first project to land on the desk of LINTEL Founder Emiliano Miranda. The brief called for the creation of a self-contained dwelling within a building’s lower-ground floor, complete with a bed and bathroom, kitchen and cellar, living space and office. This lofty ambition was further complicated by the site’s structural limitations due to the home’s heritage status, as well as the space’s original function as a storage closet for ventilation ducting. Emiliano calmly recollects these complications. “Though the parameters could have suffocated our project in its early stages, we embraced them as guidelines that could inform our creative response.”

A keen attention to the interactions between services, doors and junctions was paramount in order to make the studio space comfortably functional for occupants.

The impediments became forcing functions for intelligent architecture. The site’s sandstone context was handsome on the exterior yet hastily constructed on the interior, and it suffused the lower level of the building space with a dampness that became palpable during heavy rainfall in the first half of 2022. With the heritage status of the home placing a limit on the possibilities for renovation, the only opportunity for natural light to enter the space was through the existing doorway and window openings in the façade. “Fit within the given box,” as Emiliano describes it, Studio Elroy is contained within fibreboard walls that allow for a new ventilation system to introduce airflow through the lower-ground floor. The studio space opens up to the sub-street level via a smartly overhauled opening in which the original doorway and window placements are inverted, allowing a new joinery unit to create a greater sense of dimension within the tight confines. A compact study delineated by a slim floating corner desk is situated in front of the window awning and brightened by architectural glass.

Studio Elroy’s pared-down footprint necessitated precision. A keen attention to the interactions between services, doors and junctions was paramount in order to make the studio space comfortably functional for its occupants. In the concurrent living and bedroom area, a timber-battened wall of uniform joinery units cleverly conceals the queen-sized drawdown bed and the entrance to the wine cellar. This maintains a sense of simple elegance when the space is being fully utilised as a living area. The eye is drawn to horizontal lines throughout the studio that expand the feeling of habitable space — levelled shelves across the kitchen and study, a high ledge continuing around the studio’s perimeter. The bed draws down to reveal further shelving nested into the walls. Even the tiles on the bathroom floor are aligned precisely with the tiled wall.

During the daytime, the interplay of material, colour, and light bring the space to life, while in the evening, sculptural lighting fixtures enhance the warmth of the tones to encourage rest and relaxation.

Ultimately, beyond creating a space with the essential functions for living, LINTEL was also tasked with the sensorial transformation of a sub-street unit into a sophisticated abode. The choice of colour and materials contribute heavily to Studio Elroy’s polish. The colour palette, inspired by the radiant red-hued paintings by Gija artist Tracey Ramsay, was a response to the limited and unpredictable lighting that reflected off neighbouring buildings and through above-ground flora to reach the site. “In lieu of a view to a changing streetscape, time is marked inside by the painted and tiled surfaces that boast changing shades of red as sunlight and shadows enchant the apartment,” Emiliano says. The studio is clad in resplendent shades of pink, red and ochre, from the rusted red fibre-board walls to the soft pink flooring and the luminous tiles of the kitchen splashback and bathroom sink that glimmer mauve and auburn. During the daytime, the interplay of material, colour, and light bring the space to life, whilst in the evening, sculptural lighting fixtures enhance the warmth of the tones to encourage rest and relaxation.

For Emiliano, perhaps the most resounding outcome of this project is its representation of his studio’s values. He founded LINTEL with a vision for a collaborative, relationship-centric architectural practice, one that earns clients’ trust through providing accurate information and responsible advice as well as earning the ongoing partnership of collaborators with consideration and empathy. Studio Elroy was an opportunity to test his practice’s values in real time. The result is a triumph of intelligent architecture and inspired design over seemingly limited circumstances, a space that everyone involved in creating feels proud of, and that the clients will savour for years to come. “We are keen to share our gained momentum with a diverse network of spirited clients, builders, craftspeople, consultants, employees, and students.” Emiliano reflects. “Architecture, we insist, can be a joy to develop.”