veiled house
surry hills. nsw. australia

the veiled house in surry hills is in the final weeks of construction certificate. the project proposes a conversion of a 2 bedroom, two storey terrace to three bedrooms by adding an additional level + ground floor rear extension. an 8m high x 2.5m metre wide black anodised laser cut screen is proposed to veil the entire infill section (entry) of the house which we conceived to be of a highly decorative but light articulation.

the design of the veil has matured since the initial design phase in which we further developed a circle packing script to produce a lace blooming algorithm = lace screen.


initial lace bloom patterning

as beautiful and complex as it seemed during the design process, it was just intensely articulated and highly disconnected from the australian colonial streetscape.

instead… we explored a series of photographs documenting folds in fabric, interpreting the patterns of cloth and the way in which the form responded to force within constraints of the material.

since then we’ve been  writing a fabric arrangement script that responds to constraints and forces within a topological framework – a basis for further research.  the design seeks to veil the infill section (which comprised of the entry to the house and the glazed bathroom to the first floor.  through writing a grasshopper vb script we were able to control the draped arrangement, screening and securing the sensitive volume of the dwelling.

stage: under construction


elevation illustrating the black anodised draped infill


night view with infill section


screen set out drawing


construction phase