Translucent fibreglass sheeting that sells for $25 a linear metre is unusual in architect-designed homes. Sheds? Of course. Back patios? Bring it on.
Chook pens? Cluck yeah. But at North Bondi’s Clifton House, this inexpensive suburban material is the star. Its translucency turns the home into a lighthouse at night, and it shields the rooftop gardens and an outdoor ice bath from neighbours and clients at next door’s nail bar.
Clifton House in North Bondi designed by Anthony Gill Architects has been shortlisted for this year’s NSW Architecture Awards’ best new house. It is shielded in inexpensive fibreglass sheeting. Credit: Rory Gardiner Described by its architect Anthony Gill as “just a Bondi red brick”, the home sold for $10.
7 million a fortnight ago. Shortlisted for best new home in the 2024 NSW Architecture Awards, it is a big result for a house that wasn’t built for resale and took risks with unconventional materials. Gill’s own home, which won the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects’ highest award for alterations and additions in 2022, was a testing ground for many of the features in Clifton House.
At 350 square metres, Clifton House is three times the size of Gill’s home and was done on a much bigger budget. But both open to the street, feature outdoor baths and use some sort of shielding that allows light to spill onto otherwise dark streets, where curtains and shutters are closed at night. “Glowing, glowing, the rest is all dar.
