---Owen and Vokes: Newmarket House---
The Enclosed Garden
--- A room with no ceiling---"On entering a space with thick walls through a heavy door, you would logically expect to find yourself indoors. All the more surprising, then, when that indoors turns out to be outdoors. An external 'room' with unlimited scope and many guises: an alpine meadow, a flower-filled paradise, a primeval forest." (
Aben &
de Wit, 2001, p.3)
With this concept and state of thinking, Paul Owens and Stuart
Vokes turned a 1940's art deco house into a new modern enclosed garden, surrounded by thick masonry boundary walls, incorporating a 'room' with no ceiling or otherwise
referred to as the 'garden room.' The award winning
Newmarket house is an L shaped container, occupied by several spaces which include; kitchen, dining, living, outdoor and garden room (Owen and
Vokes, 2005). The tall heavy outside walls enclosing both indoor and outdoor rooms have small and large openings for the suns rays to penetrate, ventilation, but most importantly they are incorporated into the design to capture and frame picturesque views. Through these 'cut outs' in the masonry, the landscape is carefully controlled and you are forced to view whatever the cut outs reveal. The planning of spaces takes full advantage of the once neglected rear garden and captures views to significant green
foliage of neighbouring sites.
House as an Environmental Filter
- Orientation of the building is designed to let winter sunlight in to heat up slab (sun in winter is at a lower trajectory) and keep summer sunlight out to minimise heat entering the house.
- The house has several 'cut-outs' in the thick masonry walls as oppose to glass windows or glass panels to capture views, allow ventilation and sunlight.
- The 'cut-outs' so to speak are an alternative to having glass paneled walls. As the house being positioned in suburbia, the cut-outs in the walls are an affective way to provide privacy and block out outside noise.
- Incorporates the foliage of several neighbouring sites, to add to the endless landscape view of the backyard.
- Concept that the outdoor courtyard is a 'room' without a ceiling. It is considered as an external 'room' with unlimited scope to a primeval forest.
House as a Container of Human Activities
- The L shaped room planning forms spatial relationships with indoor and outdoor. The connection with the outdoor 'garden room' and outdoor dining room . Concepts of 'walled landscape' and its relationship with interior space planning.
- The house contains a combination of public and private spaces informed by human occupation.
- The house is a renovation of a 1940's deco house and in saying that the private rooms are designed quiet traditionally in being small in size. The private rooms are exactly that - 'private' and the public rooms can be used by each and every member of the household, there are no semi-public or semi-private rooms. The private rooms are very enclosed and the public spaces are welcoming and open.
- Design is circulated around the biggest room of the house, the 'garden room'.
- In bypassing the front stairs, the new sequence to backyard public living allows the internal layout of the house to be reversed - private spaces out the front and public spaces at the back.
House as a Delightful Experience
- Explores the themes of enclosure and pleasure, and incorporates the presence of nature at its best.
- Captures and edits the views through rectangular cut-outs in the masonry walls almost like a photo frame.
- The picturesque views of surrounding nature and constant aroma of organic plant life and sounds of birds whistling gives the emotional and physical connection as if you were camping in the outdoors.
- The use of sunlight and shade through the rectangular 'cut-outs' during the day and then the use of powered lights and pitch black night sky contrasting with the white masonry walls creates a humble atmosphere. The 'garden room' also contrasts with the night sky, reflecting stars to create that connection of "camping in the outdoors". However it is in a more controlled landscape.
- House works with modern emotional response, using humble materials in a crafted piece of architecture.
ReferencesAben, R. and
Saskia, W. (2001). The Enclosed Garden: 010 Publishers: Rotterdam
Architecture Australia. (2003). The new Backyard. http://www.archmedia.com.au/aa/aaissue.php?issueid=200509&article=12&
typeon=2. (accessed March 15, 2010)
Owen, P. and .
Vokes, S. (2009).
Newmarket House: by Owen and
Voked Pty Ltd. http://www.architecture.com.au/awards_search?option=showaward&
entryno=20054075 (accessed March, 18, 2010)
Owen, P. and .
Vokes, S. (2005).
Newmarket House. http://www.owenandvokes.com/flash_content/index.html. (accessed March 18, 2010)
Owen, P. and .
Vokes, S. (2005). World Architects: Brisbane. http://www.world-architects.com/index.php?seite=au_profile_architekten_detail_en&system_id=133633. (accessed March 12, 2010)
Newmarket House drawings
Below are some technical drawings of the
Newmarket house. These drawings are very precise and detailed and give a first hand experience of how the rectangular spaces are put together and how they inter-connect with each other. The elevations and floor plan show in particular the
heavy masonry block walls.
Below now are some detailed sections. The sections explore the detail of construction and materials used. Take note of the combination of materials used. The most important being the solid masonry block with some prominent brown brick work also being incorporated into the design.
Diagraming of Newmarket House
Throughout this post I will explore and apply my comprehensive knowledge of the Newmarket house through diagraming.
Planning spaces, based around directions of views
Using neighbours foliage to add to landscape views. Demonstrated below as well
Sun Positoning
The diagrams above are also a combination of Firmness, Commodity and Delight
The ideolody of controlling the landscape, capturing the views, framing the landscape, emotionally connecting with the organic nature through 'rooms without ceilings,' was the main focus of my design of the cabin. I tried to apply these elements as strongly as I could.
Connectivity between spaces. Inside Spaces all connecting with outdoor landscape spaces.
ROOF PLAN 1:100
SITE SECTION 1:200
FLOOR PLAN 1:00
EASTERN ELEVATION 1:100
EASTERN ELEVATION 1:100
SOUTHERN ELEVATION 1:00
WESTERN ELEVATION 1:00
SECTION A-A 1:00
SECTION B-B 1:00
SECTION C-C
AXONOMETRIC DRAWING 1:50
AXONOMETRIC DRAWING 1:50
Elizabeth Watson Brown is specially known for her designs in the sub tropical. The St Lucia house is an astonishing piece of work to say the least. She bases the whole design around a figurative tree which is basically the main focus point of the house. The house was originally designed in 2004, for her husband, herself and two kids. It had been a highly recognized piece of work and acts as an environmental filter in every aspect. The house maximizes the use of the natural elements and surroundings of the site. Elizabeth also uses the manipulation 
