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The Chic Little Black House

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The very amusing blog Coffee With An Architect (Architecture and Angst) mocks the penchant of architects for black.

In their clothing.

This very chic house takes black to the max.

Normally a black exterior does nothing for energy costs, because black exteriors absorb more heat, requiring more air conditioning to keep cool in climates like Australia’s.

But the house is in a region on Mornington Peninsula with harsh prevailing winds.

So the architects tucked it into a hillside to maximise shelter.

StudioFour‘s Ridge Road Residence is an Australian House of the Year finalist for 2012.

The warmth of the sun is maximised through giant glazing.

Once inside, the all black of the exterior flips to a creamy white.

The all-white interior forms a sharp contrast.

Unusually, the architecture team, former Art Directors  Annabelle Berryman and Sarah Henry, have also created an artwork for the living room celebrating reflections of the landscape.

The studio-based practice hopes to blend the disciplines of art, architecture, landscape and interiors.

With their design backgrounds, the two have a vision for architectural practice recruiting design as a holistic solution, not a compartmentalised one.

In this, they are bringing into the 21st century an “architect chic” version of the concept of the arts and crafts movement, that also sought a holistic blend of the arts and crafts of building.

Looking out from the business end of the cooking area – this appears to be just another white kitchen.

But from the other side, the most extreme kitchen ever. Cooking in an all black space is a first!

The black cabinetry causes the kitchen to fade into the background so that a meal in the kitchen feels more like it’s in a separate dining room.