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Architects: Jorge Hrdina Architects
- Area: 400 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Ross Honeysett
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Manufacturers: Capricorn Sandstone, Envisia, Hekke Eterno European Oak, Sikkens
Text description provided by the architects. The Pavilion is an entertaining space for family and friends. This crafted contemporary building sits on a double block in Mosman, Sydney, with views of ships coming through the iconic Sydney Heads. The Pavilion shares the block with its older sister – a 19th century Queen Anne heritage house whose intricately hand crafted details are complemented by the form and materiality of The Pavilion.
Craftsmanship is one of the connecting forces between the existing building and The Pavilion, bridging centuries of architecture. The base of the federation house is grounded by sandstone. Likewise, The Pavilion rises from the earth with a structural core of rough- hewn sandstone. Work to the existing home included a crafted renovation in its original Queen Anne style. The result is a seamless transition between old and new.
The contemporary pavilion is defined by a technological and engineering feat – a sculpted concrete beam that cantilevers 15 metres either side of the structural core of the building. It floats over the indoor/outdoor entertaining space and front garage. The beam and the translucence of the ground floor of The Pavilion create a sense of weightlessness. The land and curtilage surrounding the Queen Anne home blend seamlessly with the interior spaces blurring the line between inside and out. The custom folding beam required the help of a skilled ship builder from Nowra, NSW, who created the four separate moulds for the formwork using solid MDF lined with a smooth interior of fiberglass. It is fitting that a ship builder created the formwork moulds as the original dwellers of the property were ship merchants – this heritage became a reference point for the ship-like form of the beam.
A tour inside The Pavilion reveals the enduring, natural and honest materials that define the space. A raw palette that includes dappled concrete beams, stained Blackbutt timbers, frameless glass doors and smooth honed sandstone floors are laid throughout the ground level. Oak treads form the winding staircase, which lead to a small self-contained apartment and media room above and an underground cellar below.
The Pavilion is roofed with a simply designed and generously planted accessible deck and roof garden, which provides a space to be enjoyed by family and friends while overlooking the surrounding tree canopies and views over Sydney Harbour
