Slate House

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  • 2023

  • Architectural
    Architectual Design

Commissioned By:

Lucent

Designed In:

Australia

Slate House is a new three level, high-performing, high-end apartment building of 14 spacious homes, in the bayside suburb of Brighton. The design intention was a synthesis of the prevailing rich history, heritage character and domestic context, to show there was an alternative to the overbearing and clinical modernist box.


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Image: Tess Kelly
Image: Tess Kelly
Image: Tess Kelly
Image: Tess Kelly
Image: Tess Kelly
Image: Tess Kelly
Image: Tess Kelly
Image: Tess Kelly
  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE
  • Slate House responds to the developers brief to produce beautiful, thoughtful, refined and efficient homes. Focusing our design on aesthetics, context and sustainability, Slate House is the careful articulation of built form to fit gently within the street character. Taking inspiration from the suburb’s iconic foreshore bathing boxes, we aimed for the building to appear domestic, small and loveable. Exceeding our target by achieving an outstanding NatHERS rating of 8.2, Slate House is Brighton’s first fossil-fuel-free multi-residential apartment building, proving that eco can also be luxurious.

  • In the early design stages we took an audit of buildings in the local vicinity which revealed a dominance of slate, terracotta and brick and white masonry. By utilising these three distinct materials in the construction of Slate House, we were able to break down a large building into smaller volumes. Forms reminiscent of the bathing boxes (little pitched roofs) were wrapped in these contrasting materials and stepped back to reduce scale. Rather than appearing as one form Slate House poses questions of singular buildings. The intention was a synthesis of the prevailing rich history, heritage character and domestic context.

  • The design of Slate House draws on the forms, character and context of the local neighbourhood. The building is sensitive to the future use of adjoining sites - the building does not detrimentally affect the current amenity of the neighbouring buildings or any future building proposed. This sets a precedent for other apartment buildings within the area. Proving that eco can also be luxurious, Slate House is Brighton’s first fossil-fuel-free multi-residential apartment building,

  • Lucent, Developers. “The natural assumption in Brighton is that a development has to be luxury, high end; with less focus on aesthetics. We wanted to offer a beautiful place to live that was site specific with outstanding sustainability credentials. Early design concepts all came back the same, except Austin Maynard Architects who came back with a pitched roof. Placed in the context of the street, and specifically the heritage home next door, it resonated with us. The monolithic look is popular in Brighton but what didn’t exist was an high performing apartment complex that felt like an architecturally designed home." “The design, layout, attention to detail and the playfulness has been been really well received. Residents are getting an award-winning Austin Maynard Architects building that references their body of work. Everything is well thought out. Whether it’s a small house, large house, or multi residential, they approach each project uniquely."