Noir, Hamilton QLD

5 Storey new build within traditional character zone precinct. Features a 6+ car garage basement from Grays Rd, 1 car garage to Prospect Tce lift, 5 bedrooms, 6.5 baths, office, media room, swimming pool, sauna, second living with kitchenette, bar, and bbq area.

Situated in a traditional character area of Hamilton (Brisbane QLD) this project sits on avery steep site with 18m height difference from Prospect Terrace at the top to Grays Rd at the bottom.

It is technically 5 levels but always 2-3 storeys above natural ground level as dictated by the town planning regulations. The humble yet bold form to Prospect Tce gives the impression of a sunken single-storey house to the street with integrated landscaping on every level.

The charred timber clad form with a split triangle roof form frames the Brisbane city. This property is private and closed off to Prospect Terrace while being open to the city and river aspect. The house transitions in form, materiality and program as it terraces down the hill. Charred timber cladding, weatherboard and battened FC (both painted black) enclose the multi-storey suspended concrete floor plates that just out into space anchored and cantilevered from stone-clad blade walls and columns – referencing the solid foundation of the existing site.

Cantilevered balcony slabs with timber-clad soffits address the streetscape from below. Their angled shapes retract as the levels go up the site. Mimicking the original fall of the topography. The combination of exposed off-form concrete, rendered masonry, charged and natural timber, glass, and vegetation contribute to a dark and textured aesthetic.

A program of spaces has been derived vertically to create a variety of spatial connections to outside whether it be to the city and river views or to landscaping. A cantilevered concrete planter defines the main entry off Prospect Tce where a single hidden garage can be found serving day-to-day use. This is also the master suite level with ith large landscaped balcony and undisrupted views of the Brisbane River & city.

Upon entry into the light-filled double-height space a stone-clad wall with cantilevered timber stairs guides you down into the main living area that opens up onto a large balcony with integrated landscaping also with undisrupted views of the Brisbane River and the city. The only curves in the house can be found on the waterfall edges of the kitchen island bench.

The level below houses three large bedrooms with ensuite. Two of these rooms flow onto a balcony overlooking the entertaining level below. The entreating level with pool, second living, bar & bbq sits above the basement garage providing separation from the street.

Accessed off Grays Rd is the basement garage, a dark and slick cave-like space with a stream of natural light via the acrylic panel to the pool floor allowing views to the level of the house above.

Photography: Andy Macpherson, Brock Beazley