Places and Spaces: Step Inside This Jaw-Dropping Futuristic Home in Inner City Sydney

Unlike its Victorian-era terrace neighbours, Glebe House by Chenchow Little does anything but fit in. Located in the inner city suburb its name derives from, this new build is perhaps an example of what our suburban streets will look like in the near future. From the very first glimpse from the road, it's clear that this home is going to be full of jaw-dropping surprises and genius design features. The front driveway and retaining walls are the first hint of what's to follow inside—generous curves, sleek materiality and clever spatial planning. What was previously a dilapidated old cottage is now a shining beacon of contemporary architecture (and Sydney's most talked about house).

After looking through the collection of stunning photographs of the recently-completed project, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the home is huge in scale. As it turns out, the illusion of space is just that—an illusion. The architects responsible for the innovative build were confined by not only a small, triangular shape, but strict planning controls. The way they've worked around these issues is by crafting a wedge-shaped, flat-roofed structure that perfectly fills the irregular block. Sitting on a triangular parcel of land, it seemed only fitting to design a home that was geometric in every sense of the word and defied what's considered the norm when it comes to a family home. Sweeping arched windows are not only an effective way of encouraging sunlight to fill the rooms but are a nod to the arched entry portico of its Victorian terrace neighbour.

 

Inside the show-stopping home, three-dimensional internal voids are created by matching up curved floor cutouts with the arched openings. The resulting effect is sweeping double-height spaces where sunlight cascades softly down into the ground floor, leaving behind dappled shadows from the greenery outside. The architects have been effective in focusing the windows and openings towards the trees and vegetation surrounding the home so that the atmosphere is that of a quiet retreat instead of a tightly-packed Sydney suburb. To achieve the Glebe House's now signature aesthetic, a curated selection of materials were chosen and repeated throughout for a cohesive and modern effect. Textured timber, polished concrete, penny round tiles and white weatherboards complete the look in this futuristic masterpiece in Sydney.

Images courtesy of Chenchow Little. Photography by Peter Bennetts.

For more great Australian design, check out this Brisbane showroom that combines feels like 1980s Miami.