A shared love for European modernism and contemporary Japanese architecture culminated in Ashley Halliday Architects’ design for Douglas Street House, which sees familiar aesthetic sensibilities fused with new architectural outcomes.

Douglas Street House features a straightforward configuration of spaces, with interactive, meditative and service rooms located on the ground floor, with private rooms situated above. The spaces on the upper level are organised around a 2 storey void. The house sits in the centre of the block, surrounded by a landscaped exterior. Adjunct spaces include a cellar/art/media space, garage and traditional tatami pavilion.

The home consists of a lightweight top box that is supported by a concrete and interleaved charred cedar and glass base. The two forms contrast against one another, with the idea of juxtaposition furthered by the interleaving of spaces and surfaces. This can be seen with the charred cedar tatami pavilion and entry tucking in under the top box and its sharp junction with the raw concrete facade.

The interior of the home is warm intentionally to provide relief from the raw concrete facade. The timber ceiling panels in the entry hall accentuate a deep perspective and frame the living spaces and garden. The home is open by day with the outdoors made visible with a number of openings, with the filigree structure becoming more defined at night thanks to its transparent polycarbonate and glass skin.