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Aldgate, Adelaide Hills New build Completed 2016 Design & construct

Aldgate Residence

A multi-level residence that steps down a sloping site in Aldgate, in the Adelaide Hills — stone, timber and glass, designed and constructed by BOWCON as one process and carried through to built form without dilution.

Aldgate Residence at dusk — the entry elevation, stone columns and timber soffits above terraced stone steps, interior lights on
Aldgate Residence, Aldgate, South Australia — the entry elevation at dusk

The brief was a house that would sit firmly in its landscape and hold its standard for decades — not a statement at handover, but a building measured by what it keeps.

The site

Aldgate sets the terms. The house steps down a sloping Hills site rather than sitting on top of it, so each level holds the contour and opens to the view. Stone grounds the building and carries its mass; the glazed elevations are turned to the long, late light caught here at dusk, and to the pool that draws the lower terrace out into the landscape.

Material

Three materials, each given one job. Stone grounds the building — in the columns that carry the elevations and the stacked-stone wall that anchors the living room. Timber lines the structure and the joinery, and forms the floating stair that turns through the centre of the plan. Glass dissolves the line between the rooms and the garden. Each was selected for what it does rather than for effect, and the junctions between them were drawn and resolved before construction began.

A single material idea, carried from the first drawing to the last junction without compromise.BOWCON — on the Aldgate Residence

One process

Because design and construction were held under one chain of control, the decision made on the drawing board was the decision built on site. There was no handover at which intent could be renegotiated or value-engineered away. Proportion, material and detail were settled once and carried through — the standard set in design is the standard realised in the finished work.

The outcome

The result is substantial rather than ornamental: a permanent building, measured against its own benchmark, completed in 2016 and built to endure on its Aldgate site.

Aldgate Residence at dusk from the pool — the lit house reflected in an infinity pool, glass and stone across multiple levels
Interior — a floating timber stair beside the dining area, beneath a large circular pendant, with a glass balustrade
Living room — a stacked-stone fireplace wall, leather sofas and built-in shelving, opening to the garden
Kitchen and living — a long island bench with stools on a terrazzo floor, timber joinery, opening to the living area and garden
Bedroom — bed and a window seat in timber, opening to the garden
Entry void — a floating timber stair rising through a double-height white space under a spherical pendant
Kitchen — island bench with stools, dark cabinetry and a window splashback
Interior detail — sculptural forms set against the white floating timber stair

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Build what should exist.

Piers@Bowcon.au