Adam Dettrick Architects
We strive to provide quality buildings that not only suit the immediate needs of our clients, but respond to future changes in lifestyle and patterns of use. We build on the ideas and aspirations of our clients to create spaces that are not only beautiful and practical, but also have a special sense of place and meaning. Underlying all our work is our commitment to environmental sustainability and liveability. Our buildings respond to the changing seasons to offer an easy flow between inside and outside and perfect liveability throughout the year.
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Projects:
MoVida Aqui & Terraza
500 Bourke Street, Melbourne, 2009
The story of one of Australia’s finest Spanish restaurants has a new chapter with the opening of MoVida Aqui and Terraza at 500 Bourke St, Melbourne. The project engages with the ongoing revitalisation of Melbourne’s West End, helping to activate the nearby streets through its status as a destination restaurant. The two venues compliment each other similarly to the original MoVida and its little sister Next Door. The pint size Terazza offers quick, light tapas-style informality and can also entertain customers awaiting a table in the main restaurant. Aqui, the largest of the MoVida family, offers dining opportunities for larger groups and functions, whilst not neglecting the needs of smaller parties. Fitting into a modern new building required a fresh take on the architectural identity of MoVida. The key ingredient of fine dining in a fun and informal setting is preserved, with the same attention to the theatre of eating out. However new elements such as the open kitchen beside the central bar serve to enliven the space, and links with Spain and Melbourne’s street art culture are woven throughout the design. Views over the outdoor dining terrace to the dome of the Supreme Court help to enrich the experience even further.
North Melbourne House
North Melbourne, 2010
Hidden behind the facade of an old warehouse, this new residence is an example of how a small urban infill site can be utilised to provide ample indoor and outdoor space. The house offers 26 squares of open plan living including 4 bedrooms-all spread over 3 levels, whilst taking up only half of its tiny 165 sq.m site. The concept draws upon the traditional Islamic urban house, with its sheltered courtyard and the flexibility of summer and winter living spaces. The traditional courtyard is stretched to provide a linear court that offers light and ventilation to every room of the house. The courtyard reinvents itself at each level: at ground level as an extension of living space, at 1st level to reveal the old warehouse wall, whilst at the upper level it yields to open views across the city. Environmental sustainability and passive solar design principles are woven throughout. High levels of thermal mass and insulation provide an 8-Star energy rating. Indoor air quality is preserved with polished concrete floors and cross flow ventilation. Winter sun is invited into the house, whilst summer sun is excluded. No airconditioning is needed. Rather than providing a technological and physical barrier between inside and outside, the house has a daily and seasonal dialogue with the weather, encouraging a strong connection with the outside world that is often missing in modern airconditioned buildings.
The Heights Community Building
Traralgon, 2010
Dalkeith Heights is a new socially and ecologically sustainable lifestyle village in Traralgon, Victoria. The clients, Grace Bruce & JL MacMillan Memorial Home Inc. have a vision to create a state of the art new community that will set a new standard in lifestyle options for the Latrobe Valley region. We have been engaged to provide master planning, urban design and architecture that achieves their vision. The $40 Million project includes over 150 houses, 18 assisted apartments, and a community building offering resort style amenities. Buildings are designed to be energy efficient, low carbon, and environmentally friendly. The Community Building is the modern, welcoming heart of the new community. It is a multi-purpose building with many lifestyle and health features including bar, restaurant, cafe, cinema, gym, pool, doctors rooms, pharmacy and hairdresser. A warm, modern style has been created for the building, demonstrating that architecture for older citizens does not always have to feel old to be successful. The buiding has been designed to create a sheltered north facing courtyard around a grand old redgum tree. As the village develops, lawn bowls, bocce and a village green will become extensions to the courtyard to complete the active, social hub of the new community. The social and environmental aspirations of Dalkeith Heights are embedded in this new building. Socially, it is designed to be activated by its many functions all opening onto its central couryard. Environmentally, it has been designed to minimise its environmental impact in design, construction and operation. Timber framing has been employed to minimise structural steel in the building, and the design is tailored to the site to protect from sun and wind. High levels of insulation and thermal mass have been incorporated within the building to provide superior levels of energy efficiency, and lower operating costs. In awarding the Regional Prize 2011, the Victorian Architecture Awards jury gave this citation: ‘Offering a vibrant place for communal activity within a retirement village and catering for multiple levels of dependence, this building sets a new standard of architectural excellence for its type in the region.’
