Mai-Mai House | Pattersons

The design of this house for a couple is based on the reconciliation of two ideas of hide, as relating to birds; a nest and a vantage point. The house sits on a hillside opening out to the east. It is sited on a small urban lot. Its living area forms an observation perch, as a platform raised above the main living floor. Below is a protected ‘nesting place’ with two bedrooms and a cinema room. The entry is camouflaged by offering an ornately formed screen. This screen can be deciphered to reveal the concept of the home. The proportions of this facade are reminiscent of an ornate veranda villa previously occupying the site. Panels of the front façade open to allow entry into the house and garage (a vertical car stacker system is used to conserve space.) There are pockets of open space in the house including a western courtyard concealed behind the façade. The hide’s reconciliation provides the homes two occupants with a single place to ‘be’.