Stuart Harrison - Treehouse

Another impressively designed small home from Stuart Harrison's 2nd book Forty Six Square Metres of Land Doesn't Normally Become A House, today's home the Treehouse is located in sunny Brisbane. - Jenny x

Treehouse as seen in Forty Six Square Metres of Land Doesn't Normally Become A House. All photos - Christopher Frederick Jones

This is the amazing Treehouse in suburban Brisbane, the work of local architect Brian Steendyk. It’s a major renovation of a small ‘Queenslander’ cottage, with the new elements covered in these fantastic laser-cut rusted steel screens. They do several things at once (as all good design should) – reducing the heat of the sun, screening direct views to the neighbour (and vice-versa), and adding decoration. It’s a wonderful effect especially at night when light from inside seeps out, and the house glows like two lanterns.

The two sections of the house are separated by a courtyard in the middle – and this is one of great ways to bring light into the middle of a house, especially on a longer block. It’s also good for natural ventilation, and here two outdoor spaces are formed around the rear pavilion, which has open living space downstairs and a main bedroom above.

All photos - Christopher Frederick Jones

The project is one of several that have full bleed double page spreads in the layout – they are moments of openness in the book, which has deliberately dense design. They act a bit like parks in the city – the all-important areas of amenity we are drawn to.

- Stuart