Jewel, aptly named by our client after the small central owner’s study, privately nestled in the design composition, commanding spectacular views of the harbour’s Iconic jewels.

The brief was simple: to create a modest home with well-proportioned forms and spaces that were well connected with nature and provided calm and tranquility to their busy lives. The idea of ‘sanctuary’ was core to their brief. Unpacking this idea of ‘sanctuary’ led us to explore ideas of curves, architecture as sculpture and use of light and bringing landscape within the interior.

Jewel responds to the challenges of an elevated and exposed site. Importance was placed on the unfolding experiences from street to home, the use of light and sculptural forms and the use of bringing landscaping into the interior of the home to create an environment of sanctuary. The experience from the busy street to the quiet home were treated with layering of landscaping and the sculptural forms that both open up and provide enclosure at differing points of that journey.

We are proud to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land upon which Jewel sits; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation.