Exploring a Concrete Dream House That Is Perfectly Responsive to a Subtropical Climate (House Tour)

Fulfilling the client’s desire to build their concrete dream house, Shaun Lockyer Architects considers the tactile and environmental benefits of building with concrete. Located in an inner-city suburb of Brisbane, Dilkera embodies responsive design in how it reacts to both its climate as well as its location.

Dilkera’s striking concrete façade and distinctive form are largely informed by the subtropical climate. The residence is a direct expression of how a home’s design can manage a rapidly changing mix of rain, heat and humidity – typical conditions of Brisbane and south-east Queensland where the home resides. So that the inhabitants are not constantly moving between the inside and the outside to avoid the weather, there are deep thresholds, lovely wide eaves and protected edges so there's a constant sense of being able to live throughout the entire concrete dream house, despite the season.

Shaun Lockyer Architects also explores what elements make up a concrete dream house. The home offers vestiges to surrounding scenery, including views of bushland on the eastern side, an expansive river looking across to New Farm Park and The Powerhouse on the western side, and views of the city to the southwest.

Through a bold approach to materiality, Shaun Lockyer Architects designs a robust yet welcoming home. The structure’s materiality is kept minimal and, while concrete dominates, it is complemented by a beautiful stone that forms the base of the house along with black and blond timbers throughout. Concrete floor finishes from the inside to outside are consistent, creating a seamlessness between indoor and outdoor spaces as the concrete transitions to oak cabinetry and extends through to the furniture.

An incremental revealing of what lies beyond this concrete dream house expresses a deliberate modernist theme. As soon as one enters the home there is an opening of space, with a double-height room that becomes the centre of gravity in both the form and architecture of the house. Walking around the home, views through to the landscape and garden reveal themselves, which nurtures a connection to the outside and a sense of the residence’s transparency.

Dilkera expresses the tangible reality of what was once a mere vision of a concrete dream house. To achieve this, Shaun Lockyer Architects prioritised the relationship with the client and in turn created a home that is distinctly different, resulting in a deliberate attempt for the home to engage with the landscape rather than be a dialogue about the building in itself.

00:00 - Introduction to the Concrete Dream House
00:32 - The Home and The Area
01:05 - Views from the Home
01:31 - A Modernist Theme on Approach
02:02 - A Walkthrough of the Home
02:22 - A Canvas for Life and Personality
02:40 - Less is More
02:59 - The Materials
03:41 - Controlling and Curating the Light
04:29 - Engaging with the Landscape
05:16 - Client and Architect Relationships

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Photography by Christopher Frederick Jones
Architecture by Shaun Lockyer Architects
Interior Design by Claire Stevens Interior Design
Build by CGH Constructions
Landscape by Greencare Projects
Engineering by Westera Partners
Filmed and Edited by Dan Preston
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 Indigenous 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 Indigenous people of these lands.

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