A hint of colour in an otherwise pared-back and tonal bar niche. Pictured: Cassina Cab armchairs by Mario Bellini.
Avoca House by Pandolfini Architects is comprised of simple volumes with dynamic planting filtering light and aspect.
Founder and director Dominic Pandolfini says that the design of the home—and adjoining apartments—emerged from an “unconventional architectural inheritance of a long abandoned structure, partially realised and left dormant for nearly a decade.” The project, Pandolfini adds, became “a foundation for renewal” working within the constraints of the existing concrete structure and the resources already invested. Origins that also shaped the planning and architectural form of the new main residence.
The home responds directly to its leafy, busy inner-city location. Prioritising northern light with rooms open to terraces that wrap all sides, gardens by Myles Baldwin Design “are integrated into the building’s architecture, providing generous shading and cooling, and mediating views in and out,” as well as lending the building a sense of mass and sculptural depth, Pandolfini says. Bounded by outdoor terraces to the north and south, the Calacatta marble kitchen island is open to the dining, which continues the same material language with neutral earthy tones.
“Limestone, travertine, and timber veneer form a warm, tactile interior environment, balanced by hard plaster surfaces capturing the shifting daylight,” Pandolfini says. The mostly open-plan main floor functions as the social hub of the home, connecting to a living area that opens onto a terrace with a pool and cold plunge. Full-height glazed doors retract completely, allowing the rooms to share in this outlook.
To the front of the residence, the entry foyer with its sculptural staircase leads to the main bedroom, two secondary bedrooms and a laundry. A large picture window in the primary suite frames views out to the beautifully detailed Victorian-era buildings that characterise the neighbourhood, while the en suite turns inward, lit by a singular skylight. Stone plays an important role in these spaces to create material richness, Pandolfini says. Carrara marble on this level and deep red Francia Rosso marble on the wellness level above continue the focus on crafted detail, particularly “texture and proportion rather than ornamentation,” he adds.
This concept of revitalisation and restrained detailing runs throughout and extends to the street. Inviting and neighbourly, the home’s pared-back facade and substantial gardens anchor the architecture to the landscape, “actively contributing to the public realm and giving back to the neighbourhood.”
Pictured: an Escea fireplace set against travertine flooring.
The living room extends outward to a generous terrace.
Deep red marble on the wellness level adds material depth. Pictured: Travertine floor titles, custom vanity and walls in Francia Rosso marble with white veining and chocolate square Moroccan Zellige tiles, Brodware tap set in Swiss brass.
Mixed neutrals in the primary en suite. Pictured: Papillon limestone flooring, Brodware tap set in Swiss brass, Carrara marble vanity and Scarpa Carrara wall tiles.
