EPSC Residence by Davidov Architects
EPSC Residence by Davidov Architects
The work of Davidov Architects is shaped by a visually calm and enduring architecture with a consistent approach to light, proportion and texture. Discussing three recently completed projects, architect and founding principal Robert Davidov shares, “These influences inform the way we approach residential and commercial work alike, with a focus on creating environments that feel at once robust, composed and emotionally resonant.”
Can you comment on Brutalism as shelter? How has this interest informed recently completed works such as Red Hill?
Robert Davidov: Brutalism offers a way of thinking about mass, containment and enclosure that can make a space feel deeply intimate and secure. This thinking informed our Red Hill project in a very direct way.
Set on a sloping paddock with a northern orientation and expansive views across the valley, the brief called for a house that could embrace sun and outlook while also finding protection from wind and exposure. Our response was to work with mass, enclosure and carefully placed voids. Two courtyards were introduced as sheltered breaks between the house and a substantial retaining wall, which in turn acts as a screen, shielding the home from view as it is approached from the road.
Does form also guide your interiors?
Robert Davidov: Yes, very much so. We think about interiors as a continuation of the architecture—an opportunity to extend the same spatial logic inward and consider how detail, materiality and the rituals of everyday use can reinforce the broader architectural idea. This often leads to a restrained material palette, a strong continuity between inside and out, and an emphasis on spaces that feel calm, cohesive and resolved.
EPSC Residence by Davidov Architects
EPSC Residence by Davidov Architects
Can you talk us through the Sorrento Bathhouse project and in particular your focus on restraint over adornment? In what ways do you attribute this approach to other projects?
Robert Davidov: What interests us particularly are the in-between spaces—the thresholds that mediate between exposure and shelter. Sometimes these are expressed externally through colonnades and courtyards, and sometimes internally through corridors, foyers and landings. These transitional zones often carry a hybrid character where much of the atmosphere of a project is formed. This is closely tied to our preference for restraint over adornment.
Restrained in form, our Sorrento Bathhouse project began with a highly specific brief to design a freestanding pavilion, separate from the main house, that would accommodate a sauna, a large spa and the supporting amenities required to make the experience feel complete. In developing the project, we were drawn to longstanding references around bathing, ritual and the body, as well as ancient temple typologies and the profound stillness of Philip Johnson’s Rothko Chapel, a space I have long admired.
Sorrento Bathhouse by Davidov Architects
Sorrento Bathhouse by Davidov Architects
Another area of intent in your work is amplifying light. Does this run through every project?How does this alter the experience of those who inhabit the space?
Robert Davidov: Across our projects, we use carefully placed skylights and framed openings to introduce controlled and often highly specific light conditions. Depending on the orientation and program, these are then balanced with larger areas of glazing or broader openings to landscape. What matters is the contrast between lighting conditions—moments of compression and release, shadow and brightness, intimacy and outlook. That contrast gives a project rhythm and helps establish a hierarchy between spaces.
Our JDF Residence is a strong example of this approach. Through a varied use of openings and thresholds, some spaces are deliberately more inward and protected, while others open more generously and borrow light from the landscape. That variation changes how the home is experienced.
Is there another area or focus that you are excited about that is informing your work at present?
Robert Davidov: An area currently informing my work is ceramic sculpture. Over time it has become an increasingly important parallel practice. What draws me to clay is its immediacy and tactility—the way it allows form, mass, and proportion to be tested in a direct and instinctive way. It strips things back to material, gesture and silhouette and in doing so, sharpens my thinking around weight, balance, surface and presence. I find that process both grounding and revealing.
Sorrento Bathhouse by Davidov Architects
Sorrento Bathhouse by Davidov Architects