Langmore Lane for Baldasso Cortese Architects

I tell you, I got lucky with the weather gods for this one. I was watching the weather from two weeks out, which forecast 15ml of rain on this August day. Two days out it was slightly better at 6ml. Regardless of the weather, the lovely stylist Cassie Thomson was booked and we were shooting rain, hail or shine… gulp. To my shock and awe, the morning of, I drove out of Melbourne under a cloudless blue sky, which held until about the time I was ready to head inside and shoot interiors. I must have done something, to please someone that week! Anyway, enough about the weather and more about the building. A little residential gem tucked into the side of a hill in Berwick, designed by Baldasso Cortese Architects and built by Markscon.

Developer: Harmon Group
Architect: Baldasso Cortese Architects
Builder: Markson Pty Ltd
Stylist: Cassie Thomson
Shoot assist: Renee Coster

Duality

So many thoughts swirling around my head about the series I’m sharing here. I thought it was going to be a fixation to begin with but this is bigger. I’ve long pondered what draws me to the intersection of contradictions; new and old, natural and built, dark and light, straight and curved and so on and thought it was just a matter of visual interest. What I’ve come to realise through much reading, talking and searching is that it’s much deeper than that. It’s a desire to understand the contradictions, the dichotomies, the dualities within myself. There’s too much to say on this to say it all here, but I’ll leave you with this. For all the time I’ve been looking at places where the natural environment meets the built, I thought, as someone who loves and respects nature, that I was cheering for the nature, when actually my heart lies with the built, in this case the house. My metaphor was back to front.

*Side note. There are too many photos here, I know, but in my defence I spent time with this house on two seperate days and took close to 300 photos. It was hard to choose!

**Side note two, I could have done a fixations series on the lacy curtains alone.

House for performing artists

This was a fun little shoot. I said performing artist, think clowns. House for clowns in classic Meredith Lee ID colours. My ten year old self is desperate to take those roller skates for a turn!

An updated gem by Rosstang Architects

Mother Nature is always generous when I work with Rosemary Ross and Waihan Tang of Rosstang Architects, and this sunny Monday back in March was no exception. Perfect blue sky and sunshine to shoot this beautiful update and addition to an old gem in Brighton. A clever use of space and stunning landscaping by Paul Pritchard made for a lovely day in the autumn sun.

Brunswick East House by Lazcon Build

It’s quite extraordinary what’s been achieved by Lazcon Build, on this narrow block in Brunswick East. Four levels of clever, comfortable, inner-city living, a stones throw from anything you could want. From the hydraulic skylight to the roof-top terrace, to the gorgeous earthy toned bathrooms, this family home was something and a pleasure to spend time in.

Build: Lazcon Build
Interiors and shoot styling: Jacqui Lazzarotto

1 Halcyon Walk by H2o Architects and HousingFirst Ltd

This was one of those shoots that really made me work for the images. 1 Halycon Walk by H2o Architects and HousingFirst Ltd is stage one of three that will make up Halcyon Village a senior citizens village in Brighton. While stage one is complete and sitting pretty in it’s leafy surround, stage two was very much in progress, in close proximity, making clean images hard to come by. To add to the complexity residents were moving in around us and the apartments were unfurnished. All that said it’s a great little building and I loved the challenge.

Developer: HousingFirst Ltd
Architect: H2o Architects
Builder: Minicon Construction

Marlborough Street Social Housing by Baldasso Cortese

What a pleasure it was to work with Baldasso Cortese and HousingFirst Ltd on this impressive and important social housing development in Balaclava.

Built by Buxton Construction on the site of a former council car park, the six-level development consists of 46 one, two and three-bedroom dwellings suitable for families, older residents and people living with a disability.

The building includes a rooftop terrace and community garden, end of trip facilities and a thoughtful art work in the entry featuring an “inverse-Nolli Map” of the St Kilda / Balaclava neighbourhood.

Hats off to City of Port Phillip and the Victorian Government for coming together to make this building a reality and house a vulnerable cross section of our society.

Developer: HousingFirst Ltd
Architect: Baldasso Cortese
Builder: Buxton Construction
Styling: Pip+Coop

Obake Gardens at Secret Garden House

Seeing as though we’re out in the garden I thought I’d share some additional images shot for Obake Gardens from Secret Garden House by Amiconi Architects.

Mieke Pattison has done a stunning job of creating a secluded oasis and productive garden in one.