Central Coast-based David Boyle Architects is a multi-award winning practice established in 2002. The Riverview House in Sydney’s north-west earned them a prestigious award for New Residential Architecture in the 2017 New South Wales Architecture Awards. ‘Our clients asked for a practical and sustainable family home that takes advantage of the southerly views’, David explained of the Riverview House. But no boxy builds here! What David and his team have achieved with this unique family home not only meets the client’s functional needs, but also offers exceptional prowess in the creativity of its design.

In response to the prevailing ‘McMansion’ style development in the area, the Riverview House encourages street interaction, nestling organically as a pavilion with a garden setting. The varying volumes flowing throughout the house lend a sense of playfulness here, and creativity is evident in the diversity of every room in the house. Like works in an art exhibition, it’s clear that while each room has its own unique identity, they all belong in the same cohesive narrative.

In the physical heart of the Riverview House’s ‘pinwheel plan’ is the kitchen, however, the ‘symbolic centre of the home’ revolves around the stunning brick fireplace adjoining a sawtooth structure (which looks more like a piece of contemporary art casually sitting in the living room!).

Giving equal priority to both indoor and outdoor spaces, the structure of the home is layered over a series of stepped platforms, which lead to the garden. David explains that ‘the design provides opportunities for the subtleties of light, texture and landscape to be omnipresent in daily life’. A uniquely creative and poetic approach to the suburban family home.