Balmoral House from the garden, its pale brick and steel screened upper storey above the lower level

Balmoral House, Balmoral

Balmoral House sits on a difficult site: wedge-shaped, on the low side of the street, hemmed in by two substantial neighbouring houses, and with barely half the land area of those around it.

For architects Chrofi, the answer was to push the living areas down to lower ground level, where the view to Middle Harbour opens up beneath the tree canopy, then build the whole home as a series of stacked, interconnected volumes that manoeuvre down the site towards a secluded courtyard.

Details
Site Area SQM
495
Built Area
300
Year Completed
2019
Balmoral House courtyard with a pool, open steel stair and an upper level of dark battens
Timber handrail with a steel bracket against a timber battened wall
Marble kitchen island with brick and timber walls beyond
Balmoral House upper storey of glass and steel battens, a woman on the open stair below
Upper level walkway with steel battens looking down to the living room
Timber lined hallway beside a glass wall and a slatted stair
Dark steel battens and glazing above garden planting
Timber lined hallway at Balmoral House with a brick column, a woman passing through a doorway

FS Hough's task was to build that stacked, minimalist-modern vision with total precision. Using off-form concrete throughout the home required our painstaking precision to ensure the fine lines and patterns lined up consistently across the entire site, no small feat across so many staggered levels. We built floor-to-ceiling glazing and oversized pivot and stacking doors to draw the garden inside, anchored by a central glazed staircase that floats above a reflecting pond and swimming pool below. This was hung from rods rather than supported from underneath, its glass risers helping light travel into heart of the home.

Delivered in close collaboration with Chrofi, the result is minimalist modern at its most demanding, and FS Hough at its most precise.

Balmoral House from the garden, with a bedroom opening onto a paved terrace
Timber and brick side entry at Balmoral House with the harbour suburbs beyond
Kitchen and living room with a marble island, brick columns and a red rug
Covered terrace with a dining table and a timber batten roof beside the garden
Kitchen with a marble island and a skylight, framed by brick columns
Bedroom at Balmoral House with white joinery and a timber framed doorway
Collaborators
  • Architecture and Interior Design by CHROFI
  • Landscaping by Sprout Landscape Architecture
  • Lighting by Lo-Fi
  • Photography by Clinton Weaver and Katherine Lu
Accolades
  • Highly Commended Think Brick Horbury Hunt Residential Award2019
Pale brick wall meeting a concrete soffit and steel battens at Balmoral House
FS Hough