A HABITABLE
SCULPTURE

Confronted with a relatively standard arrangement of rooms and levels, Antony Chan designed bold interventions that completely changed the original atmosphere and spatial character at the centre of this luxurious home. He inserted an unusual triangular-plan staircase, created a curved mezzanine balcony overlooking part of the ground floor, and designed a skylight that follows the line of the stair ‘drum’. These changes have produced delightful effects of light and shadow, and a relaxing sense of open and interconnected spaces.

The design of most of the interiors is in a very cleanly detailed minimalist Modernist style, but with great attention to materials and colour variations that create subtle shifts in the ambience of individual rooms. In the living room, for example, the off-white carpet, pale polished wood floor and the grey aluminium fireplace panels establish the overriding tonal range. And in the narrow nook space overlooking the entrance area below it, the classic Frank Gehry Cross Check chair sits perfectly between the differently reflective glass and wood panelled walls. In the bedroom, warmly coloured oak panels are calming, while the triangulated angles of the staircase generate a dynamic vibe.