{"id":491480,"date":"2026-06-23T12:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T12:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/491480\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T12:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T12:02:16","slug":"northbridge-home-design-how-architect-clinton-cole-blurred-the-lines-between-indoor-and-outdoor-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/491480\/","title":{"rendered":"Northbridge home design: How architect Clinton Cole blurred the lines between indoor and outdoor living"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RobynSave<\/p>\n

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For a country \u2013 and a coastline \u2013 that enjoys such temperate weather for much of the year, Australians spend a lot of time inside. In fact, despite study after study demonstrating the link between connection to nature and a sense of wellbeing, we are indoors, rather than outdoors, about 90 per cent of the time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While many of us are employed in roles that require us to do so, clearly we\u2019re still choosing to be undercover even when we\u2019re off the clock. But what if we could stay connected with nature<\/a> whether we were inside or out?<\/p>\n

\"ArchitectArchitect Clinton Cole outside the house he named Terabithia, after the children\u2019s book, because he felt there was something \u201cother worldly\u201d about the project.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

Architect Clinton Cole has pondered exactly that. But when the owners of a house in Northbridge approached him, he said their list of must-haves was short, but \u201cpragmatic\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all about the kitchen and dining,\u201d he said. \u201cThe kitchen was her domain and it was designed around how they interacted with the kids when they were cooking, because they wanted them involved in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RoomsRooms unfold and spill into outdoor spaces, with materials chosen as much for their visual transparency as their practicality.Murray Fredericks\/CplusC Architects+Builders<\/p>\n

Space for their children to do their homework under relaxed supervision was a priority, as well as a kitchen that would work just as easily for their family as it would for entertaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey weren\u2019t very prescriptive at all about any other part of the house,\u201d Cole said.<\/p>\n

The initial idea was to redesign the existing 1930s house on a 650 square metre sloping site that backs onto parkland, but it proved unworkable.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Terence<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe went down a path of trying to salvage the existing [home], but the orientation \u2013 it faces east to the view [of the parkland], north to its long side and west to the front,\u201d he said. \u201cEssentially, to get light into the house we were turning it upside down and the cost was similar to doing a new build.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, the team took what they could from the existing house, reclaiming the sandstone foundations for use in the garden, among other things, to make space for a home that is as open as it is closed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bricks got reused, it all got recycled,\u201d he said. \u201cWe used the timber for the formwork \u2013 we used as much as we could from the demolition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe house follows the fall of the land with terraced brick outdoor areas softened by landscaping. Murray Fredericks\/CplusC Architects + Builders <\/p>\n

In place of the old house, Cole and his team at CplusC Architects + Builders built a four-bedroom family home over three levels, starting with a partially excavated garage, workshop and self-contained guest accommodation on the lower ground floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked with the existing slope to limit the excavation but in the middle of the excavation the client asked if we could have another four metres,\u201d Cole said. \u201cHe has a classic mini so we excavated further so he could continue working on his car.\u201d<\/p>\n

The additional space also allowed for a plant room of sorts, housing heat pumps and a jet propulsion system for the swimming pool on the level above.<\/p>\n

\"There\u2019sThere\u2019s a touch of magic about the pool, thanks to the oculus, which reflects the night sky, and the net, which creates casual seating suspended over the water.Renata Dominik\/CplusC Architects + Builders<\/p>\n

Upstairs, the main hub of the house at ground level is centred around the spacious kitchen and dining area, with a saltwater pool with jet propulsion attached to the north side of the house. It\u2019s not the first time Cole has designed a home where the pool is practically inside the house.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Architect<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to make sure [the living area] captured the morning light, the afternoon light and the midday light in winter,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why \u2013 we often do it \u2013 we locate the pool on the north side and the pool is used to reflect and refract light throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt acts as a thermal mass when you put it hard up to the internal footprint and it also makes light dance throughout the room as well. It\u2019s a really effective planning decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA large circular window makes a dramatic statement on the upper floor.Murray Fredericks\/CplusC Architects+Builders<\/p>\n

In summer, louvred windows allow for airflow over the water before it enters the living area while its position also allows for easy supervision of swimmers from the kitchen. A sunken lounge leads onto an outdoor dining space covered by a translucent roof.<\/p>\n

Further blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor space, the roofline extends over the pool in a very deliberate way, framing the sky with round shapes, or oculi, cut into the roofline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as we had that body of water I knew the moon would be reflecting off it some of the time,\u201d he said. \u201cThen I thought, what if we opened up the sky above the pool so you can have that outlook, that fifth dimension looking up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AnAn open spiral staircase connects the public areas to the bedrooms on the upper floor.Murray Fredericks\/CplusC Architects+Builders<\/p>\n

The circular motif has been repeated throughout the house, with a large circular window on the upper level where the bedrooms are, and an open spiral staircase connecting both floors, reminiscent of the inside of a nautilus shell.<\/p>\n

Open weave materials such as wire fencing and load-bearing netting over one end of the pool further enhance the sense of openness, allowing for the movement of light and air. Cole said the pool netting was almost an afterthought.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Trees<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI had that space as a void really to get light into the guts of the home \u2013 it\u2019s quite a long and narrow property running east to west,\u201d he said. \u201cI opened up that two-storey volume and I thought \u2018well, they\u2019ve got young kids, why don\u2019t we put a net across there?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ColeCole said the landscaping budget ebbed and flowed throughout the project, with plants ranging from 20-litre tubs to $2 seedlings.Renata Dominik\/CplusC Architects+Builders<\/p>\n

Cole worked alongside Julien Roy from landscaping firm Land Forms to integrate the landscaping into the architecture of the house, anchoring it to the site. Two years on, planting has colonised the boundaries, blurring what is, and is not, an indoor space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe landscaping budget was always the non-fixed variable so they spent a little more, and then they revised it down and saved money, and he stretched the remaining budget very tight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than a series of rooms, Cole said the house, which he named Terabithia after the book he loved as a child, is a pragmatic expression of human experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf people wrote down a list of all their favourite moments growing up, that\u2019s architecture in a nutshell. \u201d<\/p>\n

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\"RobynRobyn Willis<\/a> is a property reporter and the former lifestyle editor for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-491480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}