At first sight, the Dalvey Estate appears to be an interesting assimilation of shapes and sizes all housed in an intriguing architectural equation.
A rectangular cantilevered office space commands its position above the driveway, juxtaposed by a tall cylindrical stairwell and an ovular long barrel-like construction encasing the bedrooms.
“The client, a young couple with three young children had a keen sense to be environmentally friendly which enabled us to use a lot of recycled material, modernise vernacular architecture and express its artistic persona,” says Aamer Taher, founder and principal architect of the eponymous practice.
A long water feature leads you into the house while screening off the basement driveway. Cantilevered above the driveway is a rectangular office, somewhat reminiscent of a retrotronic stereo that ensures cross-ventilation of breeze to the back garden.
A guest room, gym, study, kitchen, living and dining area command the ground floor level overlooking the landscaped garden and water pools, while the bedrooms were assigned to the level above.
“The inspiration for bedroom area came from the long houses built in Sarawak,” says Taher. “Instead of making a corridor, we annexed each bedroom to a deck and made the walls of the rooms collapsible, thus making the corridor a communal area.
“The staircase was intentionally created as a feature by making it a prominent annex to the house instead of relegating it to the back,” explains Taher.
“If you think of a house as a work of art; as a sculpture, this is what we’d like our work to be.
Subscribe to Habitus magazine or pick up issue 10 – out in December – where you’ll find another of Aamer Taher’s projects.
Aamer Taher
aamertaher.com
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