Gill said it did not matter what a material cost or how it was commonly used. “If it does what we want, and we see a beauty in it … it is really about that combination.”
“It is a brave client that goes for super knotty timber,” Gill said of Clifton’s reuse of the Oregon.
Clifton, in turn, had faith in Gill and the process. “I didn’t have to have my arm twisted because I’m always up for something different. Once you get the sun shining, what was really amazing to me is how beautiful it was from the inside,” he said.
Comments from locals weren’t always as positive. People asked Clifton if the fibreglass was temporary. “They said, ‘What are you doing?’ and ‘Geez, that’s ugly,’ etc. But once all the landscape went in and everything was finished, they understood it and liked it.”
The reason so many homes designed by architects for their own families win awards is because they are free to experiment.
That was also the case for Clifton. He had expected to live for decades in the house with his wife and three children, and also trusted his architect.
“We’ve built over 150 architectural houses now, and what I see a lot is that the client can sometimes make some bad decisions because they don’t have the experience, and push the architect in a direction that probably isn’t best for the project.”
Architect Anthony Gill at Clifton House which sold last month. It is also shortlisted for a NSW Architecture Award to be announced at the end of this month.Credit: Nick Moir
He decided to sell after an unsolicited offer prompted him to list the property. “We’re sad to be moving. For us, it was an affordability thing.” Clifton was raised on a farm and wanted to buy a property to teach his children how to fix fences, herd cattle and plant trees.
For Gill and Clifton, it’s another example of the tradition of experimentation in new homes that can often pay off in awards and clients.
Adam Haddow, a director of SJB and the president of the NSW Institute of Architects, said designing his own home – which won the highest award for new homes last year – meant he got to do things without having to convince anyone.
He gets at least five calls a week from potential clients asking if he will design something similar to the small home in Surry Hills. It is a 69-square-metre home on a 30-square-metre footprint and only 3.2 metres deep from front to back wall.
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“Some are realistic, others don’t understand the nuance of getting a house like ours built,” Haddow said. The good thing was that people were starting to realise “less can be more”, he said.
Gill said designing his own home had allowed him to be braver and bolder. “When you are doing your own home, you can be a bit more daring, and less worried about resale and things like that.”
Julie Power is a lay juror on the NSW Architecture awards for new houses. The winners will be announced in late June.
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