This curvaceous brick house was designed by architect Clare Cousins as a personal home for her family in Melbourne, Australia. The home takes advantage of the long linear plot and rear laneway access, a garage with studio above was designed first, conceived as a windowless sculptural form perched on a garage clock to provide a studio or guest bedroom. The house extension curves to maximize its northern orientation and to visually incorporate the native landscaping into the house. This project plays with raw building materials, in concrete and timber, and with pattern, in brick bonds and linear spacing. The sculptural first floor contains a studio and bathroom inspired by Alvar Alto glassware with a ribbed timber cladding that continues across the west-facing windows to provide solar protection.

Photos: Shannon McGrath