Portland Street Duplex

Portland Street Duplex

Located in Sydney’s suburb of Dover Heights, this sloping site incorporates two attached dwellings designed by MHN. Design Union to maximise the expansive views west towards Sydney Harbour while each incorporating generous and intimate living areas, three bedrooms and basement rumpus room.

A careful balance between transparency, materiality and solidity of the building’s outer skin was carefully considered.

The street elevation was designed to ensure a cohesive appearance between both dwellings while subtly alluding to two distinct homes.

This was predominantly achieved through a clean white concrete frame elevated above street level with horizontal and vertical western red cedar infill timber privacy screens at the entry.

On the western façade a balance between maximising views and providing sufficient shading was achieved through a large cantilevered roof.

The corners at the living room level are completely unobstructed opening up the entire upper floor to this dramatic aspect.

Highlight windows and two large skylights on the upper level (with performance glazing) wash the interior space with natural light complimenting the use of energy efficient LED lighting and an extensive photovoltaic array for both properties.

The lower ground floor rumpus room opens to a landscaped rear yard with pool providing a grand view of the rear elevation as it steps up the hill.

Project Details

Completion Date – 2011
Building Levels – 3

Project Team

Architecture

MHN. Design Union

MHNDU represents the holistic union of Principals Brian Meyerson, Kevin Ng, and Liam Hancock, who bring their creativity, experience and technical expertise to this contemporary practice.

Their collaborative approach, experience, strategic thinking, and use of advanced technologies combined with an energetic service-driven team, results in a legacy of quality design, and practical, enduring and sustainable buildings.

www.mhndu.com

Photography

Brett Boardman

Brett is a well-established commercial and architectural photographer based in Sydney.

www.brettboardman.com

Photo Gallery

Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.

Design © 2020 MHN. Design Union. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Brett Boardman. All Rights Reserved.

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