Located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and a short distance from the Yarra River, Arthur by Oscar Sainsbury Architects (OSA) is an architects own house that extends upon the ideas of family living and connection to nature. As the owner, architect and builder, OSA dances across the separate realms with ease in order to deliver a home that allows the family to grow in place. Following a desire to open up an architects own house to the outside, OSA uses contemporary methods of design, allowing for the family to easily manoeuvre about.

With the house tour of an architects own house beginning at the double-bricked façade, OSA has additionally maintained three of the original bedrooms, with two facing the street and one opening up to the rear decking. Designed to be the central part of the house, the kitchen is laid out to encourage flow and connection from the private quarters and into the public living spaces. Known to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, the owner and architect has incorporated functionality by allowing it to serve its purpose as well as be easy to live and entertain in.

As with most heritage homes, OSA faced the challenge of finding light within an architects own home. To fix this, the home is designed in a passive orientation, allowing for access to northern light as well as eastern and western sunlight. Saturated with natural light from morning to night, the home is given moments of softness and sometimes starker sunlight, depending on the time of day.

Focused on using timber as the championing material, OSA employs the material for framing, rafting as well as the pergola over the rear deck for added consistency throughout an architects own house. Chosen in part for its warmth, the timber was also employed for its robustness and user friendliness for the young family. Exuding a sense of ease, the house gives the owners a chance to live a relaxed way of life, with spaces that allow for contained living or expanded living as needed.

00:00 - Introduction to the Architects Own House
00:31 - Designing for Yourself
00:59 - The Initial Design Ideas
01:13 - Encouraging Usage of the Garden
01:33 - A Focus on the Garden
01:56 - The Original Double Brick House
02:12 - The Central Part of the House
02:58 - Challenges Designing with Heritage Homes
03:39 - The Materials Used
04:35 - Favourite Aspects of the Home

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Photography by Rory Gardiner.
Architecture by Oscar Sainsbury Architects.
Landscape by Amanda Oliver Gardens.
Structural Engineering by Keith Long & Associates.
Filmed and Edited by Cheer Squad Film Co.
Production by The Local Project.

The Local Project acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners of the land in Australia. We recognise the importance of First Nations peoples in the identity of our country and continuing connections to Country and community. We pay our respect to Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations people of these lands.

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