Five Courts

Project No. 041-shl

Five Courts House [Scoppa House]

Leichhardt NSW

Design 2008-2009

Construction 2009-2010

The site is formed out of the left over space between the intersections of conflicting neighborhood grids, a residual urban space of unorthodox geometry.

Bounded on three sides by a road and two narrow urban laneways, the former builder's yard stood empty, but for the high enclosing masonry walls to the perimeter. Recycled bricks are stacked upon the existing brick walls in a series of distorted gables. Where these gables connect to courtyards on the interior, the brick is laid in an open course pattern that promotes the passage of light and air without sacrificing the interior focus of the house.

The program of the house has been organised to optimise environmentally sustainable design features. Passive solar design principles give rise to the predominant northerly orientation with the house laid out around a large north facing courtyard. Supplementary courtyards arranged against the existing masonry walls provide more intimate opportunities for contact with nature. Shaded outdoor space is provided for optimised ventilation flows across the range of seasonal and weather conditions. The existing perimeter walls provide excellent insulation to the south and protection from the heat of afternoon sun to the west.

The repetitive gable roof forms acknowledge the light industrial character of the area, and help to mediate between the differing scales of the immediate building fabric, while anchoring the house in familiar residential territory.

Client Joe & Billie-Jean Scoppa

Architect Matthew Gribben Architecture

Team Matthew Gribben, Laure Vincent de Vaugelas, Hao Quan Cai

Structural Engineer Simpson Design Associates

Hydraulic Engineer ITM/Markus Lachele

Builder Paul Cigana

Brick Reuse

Photography Brett Boardman, Keith Chen-Hao Lin, Matthew Gribben