PERTH: Infinity Views, a stunning, multi-million-dollar Bicton home by John LeClare Josephs of Superseed Architecture, has won the Design Matters National Building Design Award for Building Design of the Year (WA) 2021.
Described as a symphony of architectural design, engineering, specification, and Master Builder craftsmanship, Infinity Views was also awarded Best New House over $3M (WA).
The dual-win was announced at last night’s glittering Annual Awards cocktail party at the WA Museum Boola Bardip. Local celebrity MC Holly McSweeney hosted the evening in front of a room filled with Design Matters National Members, their guests, VIPs, and major sponsors.
In awarding the grand prize, the judges described the winning project as: “A very deserving home which will stand the test of time and everything an award-winning home should be”.
DMN Member, John LeClare Josephs of Superseed Architecture, was delighted to accept the Award and said Infinity Views looked, from the street, like a modest, single-storey home however, on further investigation, the scale and site of the stunning residence, which is perched in a niche in a limestone cliff, became very apparent.
Mr. Josephs set out to optimise the stunning location, utilise construction techniques and detail reflecting the builder's skillset, maximise habitable space, and create a bespoke yet sensitive family home which spoke of the landscape and site context, juxtaposing the surrounding traditional forms.
Residents experience the surrounding landscape from the moment they come home, from every room because the residence is separated into two clear volumes in the plan, joined by transparent sun halls, providing a clear vision right through the residence. The form of the two volumes has subtle curves and angles, clad in teak, to meld them into the adjoining landscape, creating the view angles from every habitable space.
The Judges remarked on the project’s skilfully-designed layout and clever engineering and construction, by Peter Capozzi of Capozzi Building, which maximised what could have been achieved on the extremely logistically complex site, with a 13m difference from top to bottom, including a seven-metre sheer drop and extremely difficult soil conditions.
Inspired by the curves of the Swan River below, the textural quality of the surrounding landscape, and with design cues derived from luxury yachts, the form of this stunning Perth residence is fluid, with almost no standard right-angle geometry. Instead, the form of the building is a series of angled walls and curved junctions, the shape of the spaces informed by maximising the views, whilst creating a sense of privacy and serenity.
Also taking inspiration from Le Corbusier’s Piloti system, Infinity Views is partially raised on columns, and the driveway suspended, letting the form of the residence itself create massive amounts of covered space. The oversized timber wall construction and teak cladding allowed for massive weight reductions, whilst greatly increasing energy efficiency, allowing the suspension of two floors over, and the creation of cantilevers.
The structure faces west, with massive, glazed openings and large volumes, as required for the incredible views and site optimisation.
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