Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

A Luminous Micro-Home Peeks Above the Rooftops in Sydney

A Luminous Micro-Home Peeks Above the Rooftops in Sydney

This Australian home feels larger than its 645 square feet thanks to white walls, plenty of outdoor connections, and loads of natural light.

When a young couple approached Sydney, Australia–based design firm Architect George about renovating a dark and dated single-story home on a narrow lot in the suburb of Newtown, they challenged the architects to create a comfortable, light-filled two-level home that connects to nature. "The house occupies one of the smallest and most awkward sites you could come across as an architect," says Dean Williams of Architect George. "But it benefits from great sunlight and proximity to a community park and garden, and urban amenities."



The micro-home that Architect George designed for a young couple in Newtown, Sydney, Australia, features a greenery-filled courtyard that ties the interior of the home to the outdoors.



The two-story home, outfitted with white-painted concrete, cement, and brick, is part of a dense and busy urban environment.

The new design-which measures just 645 square feet and features two bedrooms and two bathrooms-rises like a minimalist sculpture out of the center of its varied urban context. "It’s adjacent to a busy train line and beneath a flight path," Williams says. "There’s a lot going on in a very dense inner-city environment."



The previous incarnation of the home was a 470-square-foot row house with only one level. A pull-down staircase accessed a half-level located in the attic.

The lot is situated within a terrace row on a triangular block, and it’s marked by 13 angled boundaries. "It’s a lot compared to the typical four boundaries you see with urban street patterns," Williams says. "The design had to rationalize these angles, the small site, and the urban context."



A large glass door at the rear of the home ties the open-plan kitchen, dining, and living areas on the first level to a sun-drenched courtyard filled with plantings.



The kitchen displays a variety of textures, including dark walnut and marble.

The architect responded to the complexity of the site by using the angles as opportunities to tie the rooms to the outdoors. "The house is modest in size, so it was important to create indoor/outdoor connections that would increase the sense of space," Williams says.



The architects maintained the living room’s original fireplace and selected dark-stained European oak for the flooring throughout the home.

The architect employed large double-glass doors in the dining area to connect the first level (where the open-plan common areas are located) to the sun-drenched rear courtyard and a much-loved community park beyond it. "The courtyard is a continuation of the interior living spaces," the architect says. "There’s also an interior light-well garden located between the kitchen, dining, and bathroom that brings lots of natural light into the home and provides an immediate connection to greenery."



Sunlight pours in through the rear glass doors, washing over the wood dining table and the European oak flooring.

The bathroom on the first level brings more greenery and sunlight to the public areas. "A new, smaller bathroom is positioned within a triangular portion of the site on the ground floor," Williams says.



The small bathroom on the first level features concrete block walls and ceramic mosaic tile. A skylight in the shower supplies an indoor/outdoor experience.

The exterior of the first-level bathroom, clad in pale-gray concrete brick, juts out into the rear courtyard. "It’s an element that’s somewhat sculptural," says Williams, who topped the space with a living roof. "The green roof provides a much-loved outlook for one of the bedrooms on the second level," the architect says.



White-painted storage cabinets are built into the wall beneath the staircase.



The staircase features a slim silhouette that preserves ground space for the open-plan first level, where the kitchen, dining, and living areas are located.

The first-level bathroom has a curved shower area with a skylight, which provides the feeling of an outdoor shower. "The ground-floor plan responds to the objectives of the brief, which was to provide living areas that connect to sunlight and greenery," Williams says.



A skylight above the staircase floods the upper-level hallway with natural light.

The architect selected an all-white palette for the interior walls to let the greenery, sunlight, and textured finishes take center stage. "The uniformity of color, and the minimal form add a sculptural element and offset the layers of graffiti and urban life that surround the home," he says.



A small balcony connects one of the bedrooms on the second level to the landscape.

Williams maintained much of the existing house’s structure and footprint, changing only the arrangement of the rooms and removing unwanted walls that blocked natural light and chopped up the space. "The reworkings were minor, but they improved the plan dramatically," he says.



The bathroom on the second level is outfitted with terrazzo tile flooring, ceramic mosaic tile walls, and a walnut vanity.

The new home’s footprint is slightly smaller, but it features rooms that are practical in size. "The living areas are perfectly large enough, and with the connection to the courtyard, the ground floor effectively doubled in size," Williams says. "The site afforded no room to spare, so-like when building a finely constructed boat-we focused on using every millimeter of space available to create a comfortable home."



One of the second-level bedrooms looks down to the ground-floor courtyard.



A much-beloved community park and garden behind the home offers more opportunities to connect with nature.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
×