James Russell Architect

Project Team

James Russell, Andy Schindler, Dan Young

Theme

A modest home in the outer suburbs of Brisbane.

Setting

A small lot in a Greenfield sub-division.

Ageing gracefully

Architect James Russell has devised a new typology for greenfield sub-divisions that aims to inject old fashioned community spirit and flexibility into new neighbourhoods.

Starting with a conventional 10x40m block, Russell’s design exploits exemptions within Brisbane City Council’s City Plan – and incorporates new technologies in brick construction – to create ‘first generation’ housing that can be easily adapted as people’s needs change over time.

Instead of dedicating the front of the block to car-parking and double garages, Russell’s scheme positions the house closer to the street – emulating Brisbane’s old-style open verandahs – to foster planned and casual interactions between neighbours, friends and strangers.

Over time, after homeowners have established friendships with their neighbours, they could trade rooms across site boundaries, Russell says. “We are proposing a ‘first generation’ approach, where the building envelope allows people to trade spaces in different ways,” he explains. “It might be a casual arrangement, or people might lease space from their neighbours, or even buy and sell rooms across blocks, so that the shape of blocks can change as people’s needs change.

“An example of that occurring is in courtyard housing in Morocco,” Russell explains. “When families shrink on one side of the dividing wall, and grow on the other side, they might brick up a doorway to a bedroom, which then becomes a loungeroom in the neighbours’ house.”

Russell’s proposal makes it possible to share space across fence lines – both internal rooms and outdoor areas – because the house combines a durable and permanent brick and concrete envelope with flexible and adaptable glazing, walls and landscaping. So the small room at the front – which is designated as a shed in the original plan – could become the neighbour’s home office or be leased as a small shop, for example. Or the rear courtyard could be reconfigured with new fences to provide additional play space for a neighbours’ young children.

“We’ve used brick externally on many of our built projects because it is a beautiful, robust and self-finished material,” Russell says. “However, over the years brick has become a veneer rather than a structural material because of the requirements of the Building Code of Australia, but we have incorporated new technologies that allow us to use bricks as the primary structure.”

These include the Flemish bond external walls – constructed with glazed extruded bricks and mortar with waterproofing additive – that prevents water from entering the walls. Overhead, the vaulted roof is made from single skin bricks that are laid dry over a reusable steel frame and rubber blanket. Wet mortar is then squeegeed into the joints before the surface is coated with a waterproofing, insulating membrane.

While Russell admits that this design would probably cost more to build than a standard project home, its simplicity and ease of construction means that some of the initial budget is invested in build quality, to ensure its longevity. “We want to create a brick envelope that can be adapted over hundreds of years, rather than a grossly over-scaled house that needs to be rebuilt in 20 or 30 years time,” he says.

“As land near the city becomes more scarce and expensive, and provided you put forward a structure that lasts for generations, there will be a real need for solutions that can adapt over a couple of generations,” Russell adds. “We are interested in creating homes that can grow and shrink, and allow families to be stable and remain in one place, even as their needs change.”