Courtyard Home Design

Courtyard home design

The Kensington Lighthouse’s design was predominated by the difficulties of a constrained site: a 160 sq.m. strip of land between a former factory and its kitchen. The design has overcome the obstacles by two ‘sun shells’ reflecting light from north facing windows.

Eco home interior

The two shells, connected by a linking element comprising a long, stepped stair around a central courtyard, contain platforms positioned at different heights along the depth of the site thus creating privacy and maintaining adjacency.

Courtyard home design

The north boundary of the courtyard house is a 4 m. high wall of the neighboring house while the ground level of the west end contains entry, lounge, kitchen and double height dinging space. The mezzanine level includes study, guest bedroom and bathroom while the master bedroom and ensuite are located on the east side of the house.

The Lighthouse also incorporates green measures for reducing the environmental impact, including: rainwater tank beneath the courtyard, heat pump on the hot water service, grey water diverter, solar array on the link roof, double glazing throughout, triple cell polycarbonate skin and rainwater harvesting system.

Courtyard home design

The result is a compact courtyard home which makes an efficient use of vertical space for comfort, convenience and contemporary style in a small, but yet spacious package.

This project was widely published in review publications and the popular media, including The New York Times, Architectural Review Australia, The Age, The International Herald Tribune and Dezeen and was awarded at the IDEA Awards Best Residential Interior in 2009. For more information visit Tandem Design Studio.

Tanden Design Studio was established in 2004 by Tim Hill and James Murray, as a collaborative design studio to explore new architectural possibilities and since then it has been involved in a broad range of residential, commercial, institutional and interior projects. The studio works for a diverse range of public and private clients in Australia and overseas.