C is for concrete

DESKTOP

MOBILE

Designed by: Alex Urena Design Studio

Photography by: Shaw Photography

Located in the quaintly named Fairy Meadow suburb of Wollongong, the brief for this build was to be anything but quaint.

The original home was to be demolished and replaced with a sleek contemporary, predominantly single-storey, home dressed mainly in concrete.

As concrete is part of the extended family business, its use was an inherent part of the brief both externally and internally.

Exposed concrete elements were to include slabs, eaves and plate walls.

The design was to feature a separate parents’ wing to the children’s bedrooms, an independent guest area suitable for long-stay overseas visitors, and the retention of the front garden so that the distant escarpment views could still be enjoyed.

An exposed concrete plate wall accompanies the floating wood tread staircase. — An exposed concrete plate wall accompanies the floating-tread staircase.

The solution came in the form of a C-shaped structure situated at the rear of the site to allow all the living areas and rooms to face the garden and gain access to natural light.

A garage, flanked in natural stone and black charred timber, forms the street-facing frontage.

The stone runs the length of this wing on the lower level, above which an exposed, perforated concrete eave leads the way to the living spaces at the back.

The façade of the living area presents as a concrete box with a timber deck leading to the garden.

Giant sliders make indoors and outdoors one.

Behind the garage sits the guest bedroom with ensuite and behind that, the rumpus room which acts as a private guest living area if needed.

Independent access is available through the side or the front garden via the rumpus.

Upstairs features three children’s bedrooms and a bathroom.

On the opposite wing is the parents’ retreat, which also enjoys front-yard views, and completes the C-shape.

Internally, an exposed concrete plate wall is a feature of the living room, which provides contrast and texture against the stucco fireplace and polished concrete floor.

This also forms the wall on the other side of the master suite’s walk-in-robe and ensuite.

Generous comfy modular sofas contrast the home's otherwise clean-lined, pared back interior. — Generous comfy sofas contrast the home’s otherwise clean-lined, pared back interior.

A second exposed concrete plate wall accompanies the floating-tread staircase, which has a custom recessed handrail in concrete and timber with built-in lighting.

This wall is also exposed in the rumpus room on the other side.

Hidden behind kitchen joinery are the pantry, laundry and powder room.

With its simple form and use of robust materials, where exposed concrete offsets the free-form stone and the black charred timber cladding, this house presents boldly and confidently both inside and out.

The living room's feature exposed concrete wall also forms the rumpus room wall (with wood tread floating stairs) on the other side. — The living room’s feature exposed concrete wall also forms the rumpus room wall on the other side.

Find more design ideas and inspiration at trendsideas.com

Credit List

Building designer Alex Urena Design Studio	Builder Make the Mark
Surveyor Dennis Smith Surveys	Energy assessor Illawarra Basix Solutions
Structures Element Consulting Engineers	Drainage Inglis Engineering
Kitchen Rachael Miklas	Kitchen manufacturer Mandziys Just Joinery
Interior designer Rachael Miklas	Cladding Charred timber – Mortlock Timber; concrete – Concrete & Civil; stone
Roof Colorbond	Curtains Barnes Interiors
Main flooring Concrete – Boral Geostone	Bedroom flooring Carpet – Bremworth
Rugs Lounge – Halcyon Lake	Fireplace Kalfire
Feature light fittings Exterior – Articolo; light over dining table – Studio Enti	Living room furniture Dining – custom made; lounge & armchairs – Jardan; side table – Dinosaur Designs; bar stools – Simon James via District Furniture
Awards Trends International Design Awards (TIDA) Homes – Winner