In all its projects, Australian firm Baracco+Wright Architects has a peculiar sensitivity in relating the conditions of the context with those of the architecture. This can also be seen in the small volume added to a house in Melbourne, built in the 1980s with a brutalist language. Inside the small lot, the studio inserted a building of just 26 sqm, seeking a dialogue with the previous solid concrete architecture and the small, lush garden.
The new volume thus has a simple, almost triangular shape, with an edge oriented towards the house's facade. Hence, the garden expands and extends long green wedges into the lot. The architecture, on the other hand, is compact and regular, characterized by the transparency, given by the glass blocks, which generates a unity with the surrounding space.
The functions of the designed extension combine a garage with a flexible space, also equipped with a toilet. However, the project's essence is a sense of lightness, and the continuous dialogue with nature reverberating in the space: nature is in fact mirrored, it shines through from inside to outside, and touches the architecture itself.
The quality of the architecture is consequently inherent in its immersive experience: a full-height volume with a mezzanine that detaches from the facade. A small base is rooted on the ground, and a slight excavation defines the ground level, with two cut stones floating as if flowing on the concrete floor. Here, a simple staircase, in metal and wood, leads to the mezzanine floor and an immersion in soft light, in the reflections from the outside and the shadow of the leaves, completes the experience.
A prize for architecture between lights and volumes: LFA Award
An international photography competition that invites photographers worldwide to capture the essence of contemporary architecture. Inspired by the work of the famous Portuguese photographer Luis Ferreira Alves, the award seeks images that explore the dialogue between man and space.