Designing an architect's own home and office space, Jolson architecture and interior design studio combines two distinct spaces that remain inherently separate. With a fascination of blurring lines between architecture, interior design and landscape design, Sunrise House becomes an exploration of how each discipline crafts a sense of space within.
Sitting on the edge of an industrial commercial zone, Sunrise House by Jolson architecture and interior design studio was once a 1950s sweet factory before becoming an architect’s own home. Greenery covers the building’s façade, offering a dynamic sense of style not often seen within Melbourne’s cityscape. Yet inside, the connection from inside to out is made through an open floor plan that allows for the family to easily transition between living areas.
From the entrance, the office and ground level of the house honours the original build by keeping the concrete, paring it back to expose the aggregate. Although, in spaces where new concrete was poured, Jolson celebrates the new markings with memories of his own family, establishing the structure as an architect’s own home as well as a workplace.
Retaining as much of the honesty and texture of the original building was key to bringing forth vibrancy. The main design idea in the open living space was to insert three walls. Black joinery adorns one wall containing a concealed kitchen, another a large artwork that celebrates the history of the building and a third wall containing a luxurious fireplace.
Through optimising the entirety of the volume within, Sunshine House becomes more than an architect’s own home, it becomes an art form. Jolson balances life, texture and colour – further complementing the minimal design aspects of an architect’s own home.
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This The Local Project video is sponsored by Masterworks.
Masterworks is democratising the 1.7 trillion dollar art market, one painting at a time.
In our practice we're fascinated with this idea of blurring the line between architecture,
interior design and landscape design. This project really has been an exercise in trying
to understand how each of those elements contribute to crafting a sense of space.
The house is located in Paran. We're probably only a few kilometres away from the city centre.
We're nestled on the edge of an industrial commercial zone. We purchased the property
about 17 years ago. It was originally a 1950s sweet factory. The brief was interesting because
we wanted to combine the idea of creating a family home as well as a commercial office space.
For us the challenge was designing two distinct spaces that were inherently separate. We also
felt with the growing needs of a young family the importance of having natural light and garden
directly off our living space. The garden is clearly the focal point of our home. It really
is a sanctuary and this time of the year is really exciting because the colours become
vivid and vibrant. We love the honesty and the texture of the old building. We wanted to retain
that as much as possible. The facade of this building is almost like a mask where we look
through its old windows and engage with the cityscape of Melbourne and the surrounds.
The pool for us is a really sculptural element. It was about inserting a very geometric graphic
object and creates this very dynamic sense of space between the lower terrace and the upper
terrace. You know having this very large north-facing elevated garden means that our living
spaces are completely flooded with natural light. We wanted to maximise this open floor plan living
and have this direct connection between outside and inside. The idea was to simply insert three
walls. One being a black piece of joinery that would contain and conceal the kitchen. Another
being this very large piece of artwork that celebrates the history of the building by
blowing up an old newspaper article basically that shows the big vats that used to blow sugar
into the building. The six metre screen slides to reveal and conceal the functions behind it.
And then the third object was the fireplace wall which conceals the television. Everything else is
about the circulation behind those spaces as you enter from the main living floor up to our bedroom
level. The stairs are concealed but also the importance of opening up to this very three
dimensional vertical volume which brings the northern light into the back of the building.
Gives us the opportunity to hang artwork but also transition into this more tranquil sense of
private space upstairs where we have our living spaces in terms of bedrooms. Our bedroom occupies
the northern part of the building. The kids all have their own spaces, large bedrooms, they're all
quite functional. The gym, an interesting space, we use it quite often. It gives us this great
opportunity to engage with the courtyard space for the outdoor shower. Also revealing the old
history of the walls which is a really nice thing to have this connection back to. The materials
are in some respects this opportunity to engage with the industrial nature of the confectionery
factory itself. The office floor and the ground floor is all the original concrete that we just
ground back and exposed the aggregate and where we poured the concrete in for the new footings
to hold the structural elements we were able to express and celebrate you know those new markings
on the floor. It's amazing when I look at my son's feet who was three at the time and thinking you
know the house is this ability to contain our memories as we grow through the building. Art is
a really big part of our life. We love the connection to it and the process of meeting
artists, going to exhibitions and using the house as an opportunity of collecting objects and you
know living with colour and texture and realising that you know the house itself and the furniture
it can be quite simple and monotone and you can bounce life and texture and colour in through the
objects that you use to complement it. We've really created you know an interesting family home.
It's really informed I think you know how we approach design and the interior space of this
house was only made possible because of the way it reacted to its original facade and building
and I think you know that's what's exciting about the possibilities of design is when you can truly
design a space that is contextual. This The Local Project video is sponsored by Masterworks.
Masterworks is democratising the $1.7 trillion art market one painting at a time. The work that
Jolson has put into Sunrise House has guaranteed the building's roots have remained intact,
increasing the property's value by an unimaginable amount and ensuring the home will be enjoyed for
years to come. Thoughtfully curated with contemporary artwork, the home is reminiscent of a
painting. The process of how oils and canvas come together to create something that's not just
beautiful but highly valuable is similarly felt. Recently with inflation up 6.1% in Australia
and higher around the world, contemporary art has made its way into the spotlight as a tool to add
financial value. The last time inflation was at this height, contemporary art appreciated at an
average of 33% annually, more than gold, real estate and the S&P 500. With this, Masterworks
is seeing increased demand. Their platform breaks this high-value contemporary art into shares,
enabling anyone the ability to enjoy its benefits as an inflation hedge without spending millions.
Not to mention, when Masterworks sells a painting, you get a potential return on investment.
So far, Masterworks has successfully sold six paintings for an average net return of 29%
to their members. With over 500,000 members on their platform and increasing demand due to
inflation, it's easy to see why Masterworks has a waiting list for new members. By clicking the link
in the description, you can skip the list and start your journey with Masterworks now.
