By Robert Harwood Architects
Robert Harwood Architects provided design and construction documentation for the alterations and additions to this extraordinary home, originally designed and built in the 1980's by Swiss-trained Architect Gerry Rihs as his own home, located on the foreshore in Sydney's Double Bay.
Masterfully built in 'poured in-situ' concrete, the additions were completed using a similar technique. The concrete formwork and detailing are indebted to the work of Venetian modernist architect Carlo Scarpa whose work in the Vento region Robert toured as an architecture student. So it was a great honour for him to participate in the work on this house for the current owners.
Photography: Luc Remound
Deceptively simple, refined architecture that speaks of its location and is dramatic in character, spanning a broad range of scales and typologies, from private houses and beyond.
Whether at the scale of an apartment building, a private house, a table or a suit jacket, everything is traceable back to a consistent set of preoccupations with mass, volume, surface, proportion, junction, geometry, repetition, light and ritual.
A sense of engaging with the essence of a location and its space through everything the eye sees or the hand touches is a defining aspect of Harwood’s work. His method is to approach buildings and design commissions in precisely the same manner, on the basis that ‘it’s all architecture’. It's all connected.
In this way, his work is a vehicle for much broader ideas about how we live, how we would like to live and what we truly value.
We look to create timeless, contemporary homes with refined forms, exterior materials and finishes that resonate with their setting.
Our residential works have included additions and alterations to heritage homes, owner-occupier apartment buildings, waterfront properties and country / coastal retreats.
Current private residential projects are active in the following areas:
Robert Harwood Architects has completed medium to large scale commercial and residential developments in Sydney, Melbourne and the UK.
We provide strategic analysis and solutions to the developer and we establish consultant teams, as well as design and documentation to achieve outstanding commercial, aesthetic and environmental solutions.
We also offer expertise in creating business or retail environments, from concept design through to on-site construction.
Our portfolio includes retail boutiques, restaurants and cafes, medical suites and corporate office interiors.