Bold Expression – Treetop House by Tobias Partners

Treetop House finds meaning and inspiration in its inhabitants’ varied tastes and shared memories, with the bold, modern architectural form housing a significant collection of artefacts, antiques and artwork, reflecting a lifetime of travel and interest in the arts. Situated in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Birrabirragal and Gadigal Country, the home also captures the natural beauty of the site, with the foliage of the surrounding trees a constant presence.

The design process by project team John Richards, Natalie Condon, Kyle Reid and John Barker began with an audit of the clients’ collection, the arrangement and display of which would serve as a guiding principle for the design of the house. “The things they brought with them really tell a story about a life,” notes Nick Tobias, Founding Principal at Tobias Partners. Whilst the clients had a well-developed understanding of the site, how they wanted to inhabit the space and aesthetic sensibilities, “it was a very organic and fluid design process that didn’t have a fixed end goal.” Nick describes the process as a journey “to find what the clients really wanted,” based on a preference for off-form concrete and a pared-back approach to program, materiality and detailing. The result is a bold, sleek and highly modern design offering moments of delight throughout.

Whilst the clients had a well-developed understanding of the site and how they wanted to inhabit the space, “it was a very organic and fluid design process that didn’t have a fixed end goal.”

From the exterior, Treetop House reads as a collection of cubic volumes, its bold form articulated by accents of timberwork and precise detailing. The timber panelling of the front door brings warmth and cues the entrance into the home, introducing the experience of a monolithic form tempered by a connection to sky. Comprising a concrete box punctuated by a circular skylight, the entrance vestibule produces a feeling of both enclosure and release – an experience that is emulated throughout. Intrigue builds immediately as natural light is brought into the space and a background of treetops is glimpsed. Inside, a sparse yet attentive design elevates the clients’ collection of artefacts whilst beyond lies a courtyard, its view obstructed by a splayed, sculptural concrete column.

Walking through Treetop House, views of both the surrounding vegetation and the lifetime’s collection increase. The journey is “a procession of unfolding experiences that change in terms of scale, intimacy and light,” reflects Nick.

Once inside, a statement art piece is placed to the fore. Framed beautifully by the meticulously detailed timber and views of external foliage, it sits on a simple marble plinth that appears to rise from the structure of the building itself. It is here the interplay of architecture, site and art is first understood. Walking through Treetop House, views of both the surrounding vegetation and the lifetime’s collection increase. The journey is “a procession of unfolding experiences that change in terms of scale, intimacy and light,” reflects Nick. “At every point, it’s about capturing landscape and bringing in an abundance of light.”

The walkway between the volumetric masses of the entrance and living spaces is filled with light as discrete, framed views of the exterior are replaced by floor-to-ceiling glazing that visually connects the space to courtyard gardens on either side. Continuing through the walkway, one lands in the grand living and dining space. Here the whole room feels nestled in its surrounds. It is “a room in the round,” adds Nick – the culmination of the clients’ desire to take full advantage of the leafy setting they know and love.

During the day, the skylight articulates the space and floods it with light; at night, it is an other-worldly portal to the beyond.

A dramatic, three-dimensional wave-like form in the timber-panelled ceiling brings warmth and intimacy to this impressive space and draws the eye to the skylight overhead, a bold incision that dissects this plane. Once more, the elemental balance of mass and levity is used to striking effect, suspending the inhabitants between earth and sky. During the day, the skylight articulates the space and floods it with light; at night, it is an other-worldly portal to the beyond.

On the ground floor, the bedrooms and media room are couched within the solid structure of the house, and carefully placed openings draw light and beauty from the courtyard gardens whilst maintaining privacy. The increased application of timber elements adds to the intimacy of these spaces and was “a natural way to bring warmth into the house,” explains John Richards, Principal at Tobias Partners.

“When you go into the house, you experience the clients’ collection, and you experience the trees, because wherever you are, they are ever-present.”

A beautifully engineered floating concrete staircase is positioned next to the first-floor walkway and mediates the two levels of Treetop House. Precise in design, it sits jewel-like in the central arrangement of interior and exterior volumes. Mass and levity are again played with – the solid elements of the structure seemingly suspended in space. To travel the staircase is to experience a moment of compression and release between the inviting expansiveness of the upper floor and groundedness of the lower floor.

Throughout Treetop House, the solid, monolithic nature of the off-form concrete is balanced by the warmth of beautifully articulated timberwork, whilst the natural environment and light foreground the curated collection of artefacts – emblems of a shared life of travel, an eclectic aesthetic and a passion for the arts. As Nick asserts, “When you go into the house, you experience the clients’ collection, and you experience the trees, because wherever you are, they are ever-present.”