Longfellow Terraces is an example of what the “missing middle” could look like in Brisbane. The project is a sustainable infill development designed to support sensitive densification of an inner city suburb.

Design

The design is inspired by ancient people and their use of trees as protection from the elements. The project interprets this through connecting the living floor to the landscape with the inclusion of sheltered and unobstructed spaces that are exposed to nature.

Another point of inspiration was Sydney terrace houses, which meet many objectives of the “missing middle”. These structures are typically two or three storeys in height and offer flexible and efficient floor plans that can cater for varied uses.

With Longfellow Terraces, the three-storey dwellings use the sloping land to completely conceal the garages and driveway. Instead, the houses feature entry sequences similar to traditional Queenslanders with the arrival of visitors at landscaped front yards, stairs and verandas.

Indeed, with their combination of solid and lightweight construction, these dwellings fuse qualities of the traditional terrace house with the Queenslander.

Locally-sourced face brick has been used in the party walls, while the floors and external walls are timber framed and clad with a combination of compressed and standard fibre cement sheeting. The use of timber battens for balustrades, screens and cover for sheeting complements the structure’s contemporary shape while referencing the Queenslander vernacular.