An inner-city Melbourne home-cum-studio combines fibreglass and timber to highly creative ends.
Architects and partners Michael Bellemo and Cat McLeod were never ones to follow the crowd.
Known for their high-impact residential projects with low environmental impact and innovative public arts works, this design duo has been breaking the mould since 1998, when they founded this architect-meets-artist partnership.
Among their groundbreaking projects is the cubic Bellemo & Cat house in Northcote, Melbourne, which proposes a solution to urban living with a minimal footprint.
“The look we were after was light and airy. The exterior cladding, which is seen on the inside, is printed with quite a busy graphic so we wanted something simple to compliment this design,” said Cat McLeod of their design choices.
To achieve this look, Bellemo & Cat used Alpine Ash ArmourPanel from Big River extensively, making for statement stairs and stand-out flooring across the home.
“We chose the panels from Big River because the appearance was more in keeping with the light minimal open-plan look of the interiors.”
The large sheets of Plywood “offered a less linear appearance than floor boards”.
“Because of all the steps/platforms the larger sheets were easier to use and enabled the space to flow from one floor to the next.”
“The face grain of the sheets is quite lovely and added the warmth of timber without any fussiness.”
The Polygreen house won the AIA National Award for Small Project Architecture 2009 and the AIA Award for Residential Architecture Victorian chapter.
Bellemo & Cat
http://www.bellemocat.com/
PROJECT PROFILE
Re:new in Tokyo
Henley Street by Jon Clements
Trojan House by Jackson Clements Burrows
Timber to Tokyo – The Winner