Northbridge House by Alex Popov & Associates

This private residence "Northbridge House" for a young family is located in a traditional suburban environment. This Northbridge House was designed by Alex Popov & Associates and located at the end of the peninsula looking onto Sydney's Middle Harbour. The scheme presents as an understated one storey building within a predominantly two-storey streetscape.

About The Architects:
Alex Popov graduated in Denmark from the Royal Academy in 1971 in architecture and worked for Henning Larsen and Jorn Utzon before returning to Australia in 1983 and establishing Alex Popov Architects Pty Ltd in Sydney.





















The site falls easterly away from the street and offers beautiful views and private access to Middle Harbour. The principal construction is of four steel vaults supported on 48 pre-cast concrete columns, which are left exposed and on view. These columns form the organising grid for the open plan design.






















A series of long parallel vaults have been designed to roof the main living level. This level enjoys the exceptional views, and encompasses both the main living rooms and outdoor living spaces. The vaults are punctured with two large openings over the courtyard and the pool, allowing northern light to penetrate deep into the plan.





















The first vault contains the entry, a sitting room and the main bedroom. The second contains the kitchen, dining, courtyard and pool terrace. The third contains the formal living room and a stair void leading to the levels below. An eighteen metre lap pool crosses off the northeast corner off the plateau and cantilevers out in space over a three storey open void. Children’s bedrooms and a family room are located below the main ‘plateau’, opening out to the tennis court.

























The spatial arrangement is defined by a series of repetitive concrete columns, which in turn carry the parallel vaults. The columns and vaults divide the spaces maintaining the flowing open plan. Sliding doors and walls are contained between the paired columns and these connect or enclose the spaces, as they are required. This additive construction principal creates the residence’s dominant architectural expression.