Common Space Architects

Common Space wishes you a Happy New Year!

Outdoor bath sunrise from Ao Marama retreat🌅🛀

Fancy That!
A new write-up about Elegant Sheds is in the summer issue of Here magazine. Thanks very much Harriet Cowie and .nz !

We are thrilled and honoured to share that Elegant Sheds has been awarded a 2021 New Zealand Architecture Award in the Small Project Category! Thanks very much to the jury.

"A superb demonstration of the architect's ability to bring joy to the most basic, but important of structures, this is indeed an elegant shed." - 2021 NZIA Judges citation

Introducing Nicole Teh.
We asked Nicole to share some images from her thesis project Combobulation Station: Uncanny Architecture for Uncommon Objects.

Combobulation Station emerged from a reaction to the feelings of discombobulation and dysphoria about climate change. The station is a reinterpretation of community recycling centers where obsolete things can be transformed, recycled or reused. It is imagined as a commonplace amenity among local bakeries, dairies and hairdressers, and integrates the practice of reuse and recycling among the daily habits of it’s local Point Chevalier residents.

At the station, transformation of once familiar objects into new surreal objects as tools for climate change engages in a reflection and conversation about the footprint humans leave on the planet.

Introducing Nicole Teh.
Nicole is an architectural graduate at Common Space. She is passionate about architecture's potential to build upon the character, environment and culture of different communities. Working in an interdisciplinary and collaborative manner with a range of people motivates her work in the field where its intersections can facilitate meaningful responses.

We asked Nicole to share some photos of architecture she enjoyed from her travels:
1. A steep trek up to James Turrell’s Skyspace Piz Uter.
2. Coloured bands of light at Le Corbusier’s Sainte Marie de La Tourette.
3. Ricardo Boffill’s adaptive reuse at La Fábrica.
4. Earth architecture at Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou.

Introducing Darryl Chandler.
We asked Darryl to share a project he designed in Australia: This is Yu Residence.

Nestled into a leafy oak-lined street in Canberra, Yu Residence was designed for generational occupation. The ground floor is a comfortable one bedroom home for the grandparents. Upstairs accommodates bedrooms and a second living room for the son and his child. It is low maintenance, designed with a modest budget, and considers passive solar, ventilation and rainwater strategies.