The client had great expectations for this small 73 square meters site, seeking to maximize the development and build a landmark building that was to become his headquarters and also contain a small cafe and a small residential lane subjected it to two very different council regulations, limiting the development to an odd triangular-shaped building and diminishing the usable floor area.

The approach was to combine two disparate building envelopes generated by different height planes; the building was to present a formal facade to the main street, which meant breaking the height plane, and then gradually taper towards the rear boundary. The result is a uniquely shaped building that is a building envelope.

Location: 205 Ben Boyd Road, Neutral Bay, Sydney, Australia -33.830877, 151.219520
Date: 2004
Design Team: Thierry Lacoste, David Stevenson, James Gardiner, Tiffany Harper
Planner: City Plan Services
Structural engineer: Simpson Design Associates
Contractor: Ferrocon
Photography / images: Paul Gosney, Lacoste+Stevenson Architects