13 years in the past, structure energy couple Zuzana Kovar and Nicholas Skepper took their first step on the property ladder — buying a run-down Queenslander employee’s cottage in Crimson Hill, Brisbane.
On account of its poor situation, they scored an incredible deal on the double-storey pad, initially constructed within the early 1900s. With a dream of beginning their very own structure studio — Nicholas is a registered architect, whereas Zuzana is an structure graduate and college lecturer — they sought to revive the dilapidated home to make it each their workplace and residential dwelling.
Two years later, the couple opened their eponymous agency Zuzana & Nicholas. And now, over ten years and two children later, their labour of affection is lastly full.
‘The coupling of our home and studio on the identical web site permits us flexibility in managing work and life with younger children in a manner that might be far more troublesome to handle if the studio have been positioned elsewhere,’ Nicholas explains. ‘We have now a really fluid boundary between work and life, which for essentially the most half is constructive — we love what we do.’
However it was definitely no simple feat. The pair lived on the home from day dot whereas slowly renovating and reworking it, with out making any modifications to the structural footprint. Step one was relocating the upstairs kitchen, dwelling and eating areas to the north aspect of the unique cottage to seize the a lot of the pure mild and views of the backyard.
On the opposite aspect, the bedrooms have been shifted to the darker and extra inward-facing southern fringe of the home. Taking cues from the timber detailing of typical Queenslander structure, and likewise drawing inspiration from the usage of timber in conventional and up to date Japanese structure (see Atelier Bow-Wow’s ‘Home Asama’), the house quickly developed a playful dichotomy between its various types.
The rooms on the entrance of the home — specifically the bedrooms, front room and kitchen — evoke a way of heat with extremely crafted textural particulars and timber panelling. Against this, the rear of the venture is extra pared again and austere in its materials high quality to direct focus outwards to the greenery of the yard backyard.
‘The backyard is one other vital side to the venture,’ says Nicholas. ‘In 2011, the yard consisted principally of turf. However over time, we now have redesigned and planted it to encompass a principally native backyard with minimal turf.
‘Lowering the quantity of turf prioritises variety of wildlife and brings planting proper as much as the sting of the constructing to be loved from inside the inside.’
As he and Zuzana envisioned, the downstairs space is now dwelling to their very personal structure studio — nevertheless it was truly solely accomplished final yr. Holding with the brutalist design of the higher eating room and toilet, the work area options uncooked and hard-wearing supplies akin to off-form concrete, raked cement and galvanised metal. It additionally opens by massive sliding doorways to the sting of the backyard and a separate entrance off the aspect avenue.
‘The renovations have fully reordered the way in which the home capabilities and introduced character, mild and views to every of the rooms we use on a regular basis,’ Nicholas provides. ‘The brand new connections made between the home and the outside have made the yard really feel like an adjunct front room.’
