Airdate: Inspired Architecture

New factual series Inspired Architecture, by filmmaker Jim Lounsbury (The Meaning of Vanlife, The Infinite Lens), will screen on new design-based streaming service, Shelter.

It features six isolated, uniquely Australian structures, drawing the viewer into modern architecture and design.

The 6-episode series includes interviews with architects and their commissioning clients.

“Architecture is one of those art forms that is accessible to everyone because we can all appreciate how a living space can transform our lives,” says director/writer/DOP Jim Lounsbury, “This series gave me the chance to give viewers an intimate look beyond form and function to the inspiration and madness behind some truly inspired creations, most of which are responding to a contemporary desire for distinctive, yet elegant living.”

Shelter founder and producer Dustin Clare said, “We are excited to bring this inspiring and unique series to an international audience, showcasing some incredible architecture from our own country to the world. With construction and design principals grounded in sustainability the environment plays an important role in each of these stories, while always exploring the narrative from the people involved in the creation of these houses they love.”

Shelter launches on July 31.

Episode 1: available July 31
Inspired Architecture : Permanent Camping
Designed by architect Rob Brown and winner, 2008 World Architecture Festival, Barcelona, Permanent Camping is located on a remote pristine mountain on a sheep station outside Mudgee, NSW, Australia. Situated at the edge of a ridge surrounded by large granite boulders and ancient dead trees, the structure has panoramic views for hundreds of kilometres to the horizon. Conceived as a retreat for one or two people, the building has a minimal 3x3m footprint providing shelter. The structure is a two-story copper-clad tower; the sides open up on the ground level to provide wide verandahs to the north, east and western elevations. To the south a water tank and winches are located to operate the moveable verandah roofs. When not in use, these roofs close down to completely enclose the timber and glass interior protecting it from the elements, in particular bush fires.

Episode 2: available August 7
Inspired Architecture : JR’s Hut
Designed by architects Luke Stanley & Anthony Hunt, JR’s Hut stands alone on a hill outside Gundagai in rural New South Wales. It is a place to switch off, quite literally, and forget about the distractions of modern life. Sustainable Australian hardwoods were the obvious choice given the hut’s ‘eco’ brief and remote location. Materials needed to be easily sourced and handled on site by a two-person owner-builder team. The hut was inspired by a classic ‘A’ frame tent, which simultaneously provides both refuge from, and connection with, the natural environment.
Awards:
Nominated for Archdaily Building of the Year Award 2019
Finalist Timber Design Awards 2017 – Sustainability Category
Finalist Timber Design Awards 2017 – Small Projects Category
Finalist Timber Design Awards 2017 – Stand Alone Structure Category

Episode 3: available August 14
Inspired Architecture : Hart House
Designed by architect Rob Brown, and winner of 2019 Habitus House of the Year People’s Choice Award, Hart House is sandwiched between a cliff and the beach, sited on a steep slope, facing Pittwater towards spectacular Barrenjoey Headland. The steepness of the site gives rise to the illusion from the living space that the house is floating directly above the water. While modest in size, the interior is rich in materiality – the philosophy of ‘less, but better quality’. The tactile quality of the materials used resonated with the artistic bent of the owners of the house; one of whom is a ceramicist. The spaces are lined in birch plywood, with timber flooring and concrete benches completing the rugged and durable interior. Spotted gum is used extensively both internally and externally – as flooring, decking and to construct the doors and windows. It was selected due to its sustainability credentials and inherent bushfire resistance. Corten frames the doors and windows to the sides of the house, tying in with the red hues of the spotted gum, and also providing shading and protection against weather. The lower bedroom level plinth is clad in sandstone taken from the site, anchoring the house, and linking the dwelling with the series of terraced retaining walls which cascade down the site towards the beach. Being accessible only by water, it was important for the house to be largely self-sufficient – the roof houses a significant array of solar panels for energy, rainwater is harvested for the occupant’s needs, and waste is processed on-site. The palette of colours used for the house resonates with the beach and surrounding Australian bush and beach landscape. A place for relaxing and enjoying the beach, this distinctive house captures the view, sun and breezes to create an unforgettable Australian beach shack.

Episode 4: available August 21
Inspired Architecture : South Coast Container House
Designed by architect Matt Elkan, the South Coast Container House concept was born out of economy, efficiency and how to do as much as possible on a very limited budget. The client’s conviction from the outset was that good architecture does not need to be expensive, and this project attempts to prove the theory. The house can sleep 10, and feed many more. Structurally it is built around 4 containers, with a flat roof and insulated external cladding for thermal performance. The containers are exposed internally, the floor and decks step down with the site to create generous ceiling heights, views down the block and connection with the ground at all points. Environmentally, this design attempts to do as much as possible to minimise its impact including north orientation and zero excavation, zero VOC finishes, natural wool insulation in roof and on site water storage.

Episode 5: available August 28
Inspired Architecture : Tree House
Designed by architect Matt Elkan and landscape architect Lindy Hulton Larson, The Tree House is hidden within a shared bushland valley in Bayview on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. It is a remarkable site for the steep topography, intact bushland, diverse ecology, and almost complete privacy.
The clients bought the site with full appreciation of both the challenges and opportunities it offered. They met the site with an equally ambitious and unequivocal brief. The house was to support plant, animal and human life in this special environment. It was to integrate and honour the landscape rather than altering it. It was to minimise the use of resources in construction and occupation. Notably, there minimal use of coatings internally and externally with cladding, walkways and landscape walls all unpainted. Internally, all timber is coated in plant-based oils and waxes. At a broader level, the house seeks to engage with a series of increasingly relevant questions about how an Australian house can respond thoughtfully to the natural environment, given the growing number of natural threats and the rapidly expanding regulatory network controlling the way that buildings facing natural threats are constructed.
Awards
2019 MBA NSW Winner New House $2.0m-$2.5m (Avalon Constructions)
2020 NSW Architecture Awards Shortlist – Residential Architecture Houses (New)