Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

DPR House

This is a project by MCK Architects and it is located at Sydney, Australia. Project's program: Single family house. There are thirteen images for DPR House.

: © Willem Rethmeier

Project details

Project name: DPR House
Location: Sydney, Australia
Program: Single family house
Area: Built-up area: 650 m2
Year: Completion: 2009
More details: Cost: $ 4 Million
Project by: MCK Architects
Others: Builder: Artechne • Structural Engineer: Simpson Design Associates • Hydraulic Engineer: Steve Paul + Partners • Landscape Architect: Aspect • Quantity Surveyor: QS Plus • Joinery: DUWA • Planning Consultant: Mersonn • Heritage Consultant: City Plan Heritage

Project images

Designer's statement

DPR is a 650 square new family home completed by MCK in 2009. The new building uses extraordinary spaces to produce a dynamic sculptural impact.

Featuring an elegant and open plan living space, the DPR layout created by MCK is both exciting and un-expected. Clean lines and fine finishes give DPR a haunting beauty, while transitional spaces show imagination and thorough attention to detail. The generous scale and proportion applied to each room lends a vast sense of peace to the home, with the simple device of light used create tension and drama.

The long linear kitchen draws the eye down the middle of the home, and out toward the lawned garden. Here a long narrow pool is etched neatly into the green grass with pathways zig zagging around the home’s glass edge. Windows are super-sized in order to ‘bring the outside in’ and a long lap pool creates an inviting exterior feature.

From the back of the property, the ‘hatching egg’ shape of the building seamlessly envelopes two deep levels, with the cracked roof-line hovering over the pool deck and wrapping a wing over a graceful outdoor dining terrace.

Perfectly equipped for the temperate Sydney climate, this beautiful transitional space that walks a tightrope between indoor and out, reminding one of a gazebo in a Japanese courtyard home.

Inside, dramatic stairways and corridors create an elegant rhythm and flow. The clever use of materials in void spaces gives the home exquisite detailed connections that bring unity to the home’s organic shape.

The minimalist bedroom and ‘The Tatami Room’ share a simplified beauty and in both the master bedroom and meditation room the finish of the materials is remarkable. Whether it is the choice of timber, exposed brickwork or bald marble, materials do the talking, bringing a restrained colour and texture to this sculptural space.

White zones and plate glass windows dominate the downstairs area helping to achieve maximum sculptural effect. All finishes, fixtures and fittings are kept simple, while the owner’s bright choice of modern furniture adds character to the interior.