La Casa Rosa
Under the reign of Queen Victoria, the residential architecture of the British colonies was immersed in a nostalgic and late romantic borrowing of gothic architecture in its idealised interpretations of John Ruskin?s essay, The Seven Lamps of Architecture1, where the skill and craft of the builder were more important than the architect?s conceptualisation.
Lacework, fretwork, intricate plaster detailing, and elaborate timberwork was the currency of the Victorian colonial home. In a modest way, this home in the Sydney beachside suburb of聽Bronte possessed many of the traits of that late Victorian style, and when called upon to provide it with a new lease of life, for Luigi it brought to mind a holiday villa of his childhood, located on a hilltop overlooking Lago Maggiore (Italy) and named La Casa Rosa for its washed pink render. Photography by 漏 Prue Ruscoe
In true Victorian neogothic spirit, we gathered together a team highly skilled in their respective crafts: Will Dangar oversaw the landscaping, aided by his creative stonemason, Nazih; Juliette Arent and of Arent & Pyke and Genevieve Hromas brought their love of intricate detail and the input of her talented team; Callum Coombe lent his skill in forming a brise soleil of otherwise redundant terracotta roof tiles that he first honed in the construction of The Beehive2; Buildability Constructions assembled a crew of fine carpenters and farmworkers; and we must not forget the amazing Stiven of Sydney Joiner...