Extraordinary Mondays - Perforated House by Kavellaris Urban Design

I have just stumbled upon a gorgeous little house that exemplifies the Burra Charter principles of new with old. Perforated House designed by Kavellaris Urban Design is not only playful but serious in its telling of a story in the streetscape. Some in the architectural heritage profession may not particularly like this as it probably makes a critque of the prevalence of facadism in "heritage" architecture. However, I find the "tongue in cheek"-ness rather appealing. Kavellaris Urban Design articulates it far better:


"The built form is essentially an urban infill within a very small 5.5x14.4m envelope. The perforated house is our proposal to establish an alternative language of our cultural attitudes towards critical questions of identity and heritage. We were interested in retaining the ‘idea’ and the ‘symbolism’ of the terrace but elevating the gesture to an ironic, even satirical, level to incite a public debate. The irony being that only in the absence of matter, through perforation, rather than through a physical reproduction of a terrace house, is the symbol of a terrace house apparent."

The juxtaposition of playfulness and seriousness runs throughout the interior. The "backyard" mural vs the living room complete with "Barcelona-lounge-austerity". It certainly is a piece of architecture worthy of some public discourse.

All photos in this blog post are taken from Kavellaris Urban Design's website. There are heaps more there as well as a Sketch-up model for those who are interested.