thearchco

here's a scribble I did for our great friend, and fellow architect, Alex.....         J that "no longer 50" moment...

Val said I had to do the next instalment....... Feeling a bit flat after that long Friday lunch..?  A bit tight in the shoulders from working hard on your blog...? A nice headstand will invigorate your whole nervous system... J hmmm... this blogging is hard work... I could really use a little stretch... maybe an inversion would get the blood flowing a bit more wish I had a seat belt.... steady with the alignment now do I twist to the right first then the left...? Disclaimer. Advanced chair yoga poses are to be undertaken only by experienced (or slightly crazy) practitioners. Do not try this without supervision or a safety net. Best to have someone who can photoshop out any bare skin that may be accidentally revealed in the course of any poses...

Hmmmm..... this one was a response to the response to our modernist box (version 8) and exploring ways to break down the scale and reduce the "ziggurat" stepping to the rear. It's already had the council officer fly-by without too much success ....  and ....... standby for version 10.            J

After what seems two weeks of solid grey skies and torrential rain the sun finally came out today. Took a chance to take a walk. Visited the refurbished/readapted Paddington Reservoir (Walter Read Reserve) on Oxford Street in Paddington. A beautifully realised small green space set in the heritage item of the old reservoir, opened to the sky in parts. Originally built as part of the burgeoning Sydney water supply in 1866, with water coming from the Botany Swamps pumping station. It was decommissioned in 1899 when the new Centennial Park reservoir was finished. In 2006 the very groovy Tonkin Zulaikha Greer and the landscape architects JMD Design took up the task of converting it into a green space for the enjoyment of all. It is a great resolution. The space is right next to the busiest road in Sydney but you could be a million miles from it...

After much negotiation we have turned full circle with council for our Parramatta project. Now we've gone for an 8 storey tower... a solution we originally suggested as the most logical solution, but rejected.... and a stepped 5 storey section to allow solar access for units behind. Needs more refinement, detailed fenestration and screens, but starting to look OK.                J

I revisited one of my favourite early designs over Xmas in Bulli heights. It's from my "Gothic" period, early 80's. A fun building designed entirely on a 600 grid, horizontally and vertically, and 45 o roofs. Beautiful Brownbuilt 305 (now Bluescope 305) with folded ridge cappings to give it the spiky look. Split level interior with rooms designed like large bits of furniture. Bulli clinker bricks feature and exposed timber rafters and detailing. Back in the days when solar control wasn't big on the design radar. J original axonometric east elevation street view main front view entry from inside master bedroom 80's bathroom still intact circular window views to the escarpment top gallery/study lounge room glazed roof over dining room lounge room on split level over compact entry and central stair spine rear view nestled into the earth