Design | Blur the lines between inside and out

Project by Paul Uhlmann Architects. Photo Remco Photography

Stephen Crafti

The Australian climate lends itself to outdoor living. Not surprisingly, many Australian architects choose to bring the outdoors inside and create seamless indoor/outdoor spaces. Whether it’s a townhouse in the centre of the city or a weekend retreat, demand for an “outdoor room” is high.

“It’s not just about making more of the outdoors. It’s also about attracting as much natural light as possible, particularly northern sunlight,” says architect Peter Woolard, the director of Studio 101 Architects.

Studio 101 focused on the outdoors for a new townhouse in Victoria’s Geelong. Close to the foreshore, the three-level house appears single storey from the street. “It’s a heritage streetscape so we were mindful of not dominating the period homes,” Woolard says.

As the Geelong house is on a relatively compact site (about 300 square metres), Studio 101 included a central courtyard garden as well as a north-facing garden to the rear of the property.

“We wanted to make sure the northern light penetrated the children’s play area [towards the front of the home] as well as the kitchen and living areas,” Woolard says.

In addition to generous glazing and large sliding doors, Woolard made use of louvred windows. And to ensure the outdoors was regularly used, he kept the planting in the central courtyard and rear garden to a minimum.

A minimal Japanese-style garden features in the central courtyard and there is built-in furniture in the rear garden. Timber decking on either side of the living area also creates the sense of an outdoor room.

Woolard included a water feature in the rear garden, the sound of which can be heard throughout the living areas. And to further emphasise the garden aspect, Woolard designed a double height void over the main living areas. “You feel as though you’re sitting outside, even without getting up from the couch.”

Architect David Luck was also keen to strengthen the connection between indoors and out while renovating and extending a Victorian house in Prahran, Melbourne.

A 1970s extension to the double-fronted Victorian house was removed and Luck designed a glazed, three-metre bridge or link, which acts as the transition between old and new.

“I wanted the garden to come into the centre of the house, rather than something you only see when you come to the back door,” Luck says. As well as generous glazing, Luck also extended bluestone tiles from the rear garden into the house. These tiles, about half a metre in width, border the kitchen.

The new wing, comprising an open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, features generous floor-to-ceiling glazing, both windows and bi-fold doors (8 metres in width). Luck also included outdoor seating and a barbecue area.

“When you’re strengthening the connection between the indoors and out, it’s important not to create one demarcation line,” he says. “You should be able to see the garden from various vantage points within a home.”

As well as surrounding the new wing with plants, Luck was mindful of drawing the verdant outlook into the home’s original rooms, at the front of the house.

Architect Paul Uhlmann also brought the outdoors inside in the renovation of a large, two-storey, 1970s house overlooking Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast. Previously, the kitchen, dining and living areas were on the first floor.

However, to maximise the use of the ground-level terrace, Uhlmann not only relocated the living areas but also cut out a substantial section in the ceiling to create a two-storey void. This void also continues to the outdoor terrace.

New sliding doors in the living areas strengthen the connection to the outdoors and provide a more seamless design. Uhlmann also continued the indoor ceiling timber battens to the exterior.

“The indoors and outdoors feels like the one space,” says Uhlmann, who also used the timber on the ceiling over the terrace to form a protective pergola from the harsh sunlight. “We often use similar materials on the interior and exterior, and vice versa. You’re less conscious of making that transition to the outdoors.”