Steel Gable House

by Hamish Watt Architect

Located by the Parramatta River within Sydney’s inner west, Steel Gable House embraces a model of compact family housing to enable a relaxed and contemporary lifestyle to thrive. The brief was to ensure the house could adapt and respond to the evolving needs of a growing family over time. The overarching form of two gables placed side-by-side evokes the vernacular of local boathouses scattered along the shoreline. This formal strategy also enables several rooms to harness the site’s northerly aspect for sunlight and water views. With its stretched weatherboard cladding, the simple and clear structure of two gables present a proud and poetic gesture in response to the site’s tranquil river setting. The home’s interior is shaped by the daily rituals of family life while delivering a sequence of airy and light filled spaces throughout. Its signature move establishes a three-metre-high living room that connects the ‘public’ street and ‘private’ backyard with a linear sequence of functions. In summer, cool air is drawn through the interior from the heavily shaded backyard for passive cooling, while in winter, expansive glass provides a heat sink for passive heating. Made of reverse brick wall construction, the interior’s exposed thermal mass moderates daily and seasonal temperature change. Due to the setback of adjoining houses, the living space is soaked in natural light throughout the day from early morning ‘till late afternoon.

Elevated a metre above the street, the space is presented almost like a performance stage with motorised venetian blinds to control sunlight and privacy, much like a stage curtain. The remaining ground floor accommodates a master bedroom elevated over the street, with a combined study and guest room pushed to the rear. A staircase folded out of perforated steel is centrally located to minimise circulation within the home while drawing in natural daylight from skylights above. Upstairs two children’s bedrooms nestle up against a mature cheese tree that dominates the backyard. The house culminates with an intimate sunroom placed beside a planted outdoor terrace, obliquely facing west to capture the setting sun down river. Internal planning prioritised shared living rooms over bedrooms to capture the best sunlight and river views. Concealed sliding doors to the bedrooms remain open when privacy is not a concern, thereby encouraging ventilation, daylight and views to be shared across multiple rooms. In many ways the compact layout of the house is owed to the owner’s fondness for elevated apartment living – a familiar experience after several years living abroad in London and Shanghai. Steel Gable House embraces a tranquil river setting within Sydney’s urban fringe to provide a richly layered home that responds to the evolving demands of contemporary family living; for now and into the future.