Evans St.

Located in Wollongong's CBD, the brief for this project was to design two side-by-side mirrored units. With the owners being identical twins, and the site facing a busy street, the project needed to be presented as a "sealed" solid box towards the street, discrete, and although it being two units, appear as one volume, with perfect symmetry to emulate the "twin" factor.

The obvious start was to split the side longwise exactly in the middle. Double garages were placed recessed from the level above and the main entry moved to the side of each unit behind the garages, with the "front door" now siding access. Seamless cladding at the ground level, including garage doors, added to the contrasting colour and the mentioned recessed placement of the ground level, made the main aspect of the facade to be the top level. Concrete looking panels on either side, combined with hardwood screens in the middle in almost equal sizes, provide a seamless look between units and appear to be a single volume, and most importantly, provide the requested discrete street appeal. Internally, an open courtyard sits in between the study and lounge, with the ability to be opened up, with all three spaces becoming one large continuous flow, leading towards the covered and uncovered terrace on the other side.

The dining and kitchen are lined up together. A large fixed window at the end of the kitchen faces directly into the pool, providing an enhanced feeling of space. Gallery stairs used as sitting areas facing the yard overcome the floor level difference due to the flood requirements. Upstairs, the courtyard's void is used to provide a great sense of space through access to natural light to a compact yet highly functional layout of four bedrooms, ensuite and bathroom. This project is simple, compact and discrete, yet clever in its use of space.

Photography: Shaw Photography