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Architects: Alan Powell Studio
- Area: 80 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Tim Clark
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Manufacturers: Laminex, Mortlock Timber, Perini Tiles
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Lead Architects: Alan Powell
Text description provided by the architects. Common Kosci is a permanent camping structure, an exercise in limiting scale and maximizing useability, recognizing that land is a living room. The dwelling consists of two timber-lined modules, both sized to be transportable, with the essentials to support a growing family and the flexibility for seasonal internal expansion. Due to its location on a joint-ownership family plot with a multi-staged masterplan, the dwelling needed to be transportable so that it may be lifted & trucked to a different part of the site in the future. This necessitated a robustness of materiality & structure and adherence to a simple form that can survive a reconfiguration.
The project relies upon a strict reduction to the small and essential and acknowledgment of the need to lean on nature for the spaces beyond our controlled spaces to live outside. Moving between the spaces, you are never more than a step from the land, reminded of this through constant glimpses of both immediate and distant country. Being a tourist region, the design also needed to accept a role as seasonal holiday accommodation for extended family & friends. Through a second living area and loft over the wet areas, the dwelling expands to nearly double its inhabitants.
Nestled deep in alpine lowlands, attention to passive thermal controls was imperative; thus, the project employs a high-performance wall system, double glazing, and stabilized yakisugi external timber cladding for its ability to weather extreme temperature differentials whilst achieving the softness and texture of the surrounding bush. The design takes carriage of the clients’ desires to exist outdoors, to eat & play outdoors, and to shower outdoors. To handle the messiness of seasonal sports and withstand the rough & tumble of active lives by using pre-finished timber internal lining to bring the outdoors in. To stay small so that upkeep is not an onerous impost on daily family life.
The design encourages their already tight-knit family to continue to live closely together and, then again, share their spaces with others. The design shows how small spaces can thrive by harnessing the generosity of the outdoors. The dwelling is situated in a small corner of a large rural plot surrounded by an evolving part of Jindabyne’s tourist activation precincts, which envisages small-footprint, low-impact, environmentally sensitive dwelling typologies that preserve the natural landscape through considered siting.
The simple, repeated profiles of the dual modules speak to the land’s discrete rock outcrops that cluster across soft grasslands whilst echoing the functional language of agricultural buildings across the Snowy Mountains regions. The mudroom provides a messy entry, drying of wet snow gear, and additional storage. The Loft above the bathroom provides extra sleep for friends & family and a flexible second living area. The main living area comprises a kitchen oriented around the dining area that steps directly onto the north-facing deck, embodying the family’s propensity to cook and eat together and remain directly connected to the outdoors even in the colder months.
The project is one of a series of collaborations between architect and builder, engineer and interior designer. From the steel bearers - complete with lifting points for craning - and the structural timber portal framing to the restrained natural palette of timbers and terracotta and the spatial constraints governing layout and orientation, the design relies upon a dedication from each contributor to engage intimately with the needs of the brief, and the demands of the local area.
