Prioritising Comfort – Collis by Webster Architecture & Interiors and SHADES

Responding to its surrounding context, Collis by Webster Architecture & Interiors is a timeless structure that is both aesthetically dynamic and considerably purposeful. The white batten façade by SHADES plays an integral role in crafting a relaxing home, imbued with contemporary character and lasting resonance.

“The brief of this home was to create a comfortable, relaxed family environment,” explains Daniel Webster, Director of Webster Architecture & Interiors. “You could almost see yourself with [a] white linen shirt, shorts and bare feet walking around in the midst of summer.” This authenticity reverberates throughout the entire structure, with a calming ease saturating the bright and breezy internal spaces and the effortlessly integrated garden crafted by Nathan Burkett.

Acting as both a privacy screen and a structure to facilitate light within internal spaces, the dynamic exterior of Collis adds an element of refinement to the home while simultaneously requiring low maintenance.

The home’s façade, though simple in its form, utilises an array of materials to add a sense of depth, linked together through a consistent colour palette. “The light as it rises hits the façade, and you get that real play of light across the screens and the battens and the brickwork, which is a really beautiful frontage,” says Daniel. Acting as both a privacy screen and a structure to facilitate light within internal spaces, the dynamic exterior of Collis adds an element of refinement to the home while simultaneously requiring low maintenance.

“This particular project was quite an interesting one because they had some very complex requirements for the front façade,” Patrick Cummings, Director of SHADES, describes. SHADES fitted an aluminium shutter screening system across the façade of the building, spanning approximately eight metres wide and three and a half metres tall. “As I’m sure you can imagine, that does require significant consideration from a structural perspective but also, importantly, that screen is a huge element of the overall aesthetic.”

Light similarly plays an integral role within the interior spaces, as it naturally reflects throughout the neutral colour palette and oak timber flooring.

Light plays an integral role within the interior spaces, as it naturally reflects throughout the neutral colour palette and oak timber flooring. The home has a large expanse of northern orientation – the ability to filter this predicted overbearing light was a significant consideration to the overall design. SHADES fitted Collis with sheer 100% linen curtains for its interior spaces, a seamless intervention in keeping with the home’s aesthetic whilst concurrently minimising any harsh light.

A void within the main entrance of the building acts as not only a connecting pivot point between the upper and lower levels but also a light well to direct light throughout the whole home, further reinforcing the connections between the home’s interior and exterior spaces. The neutral material and colour palettes allow Collis’s detailing layers to shine. “Because the palette in this home is quite simple, the detailing was really important. The way that we’ve used battens in the front façade and then the sheet metal is just an example of what we had to consider from the start,” Daniel says. “It’s a lot of those details where if they weren’t executed right or detailed correctly, the intention would have been lost.”

Together, both Webster Architecture & Interiors and SHADES have crafted an elegant home of timeless significance. The front façade of Collis is both a structural and sophisticated addition to the home, purposeful in its function and considered in its overall aesthetic, setting the scene for what lies beyond.