PROJECTS

Mikael Carlstrom's Home

DETAILS

Arch / Design:		de Campo & Nevitt Architects (email)
Type:		Home Office
Year:		2007
Location:		Melbourne
Photographer:		Derek Swalwell (web)

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PROJECTS BY ARCHITECT DE CAMPO & NEVITT ARCHITECTS

PROJECTS PHOTOGRAPHED BY DEREK SWALWELL

Showing a tour group through your home room by room is not everybody's cup of tea - but when clients drop by engineer Mikael Carlstrom's home office, they're encouraged to take a detour through the sleek kitchen, vibrant dining area and even into the serene bedrooms to discover how energy efficiency and classic design can go hand in hand. "Fortunately, my wife Toni and kids [Freddy and Bella] don't mind the odd sticky-beak!" says Mikael.

So what's the talking point that intrigues the myriad architects, engineers and potential homeowners who pop in, relax and kick off their shoes? Concrete. Brutal but beautiful, this concrete house is so well insulated, it records only a five-degree difference between winter and summer. That's why the Carlstroms live with no air-conditioning and minimal underfloor and overhead heating. "When you walk into the house in summer and open it up, the temperature could drop from 38°C to about 24°C in half an hour;' explains Mikael.”The concrete shell- plus cross-ventilation and double glazing - gets rid of all the hot air quickly:'

Heating has been a favourite topic for both Mikael and Toni since they first met in cold climes. Toni and Swedish-born Mikael bum into each other while skiing at Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand, where Toni was living at the time. They moved to Melbourne in 1996, when Mikael started his business, Composite Global Solutions, and TOI found work as a hair and make-up artist.

When it came to their Toorak home, despite Mikael and Toni's in into its construction and design, they couldn't have completed project without the help of their architect, Chris de Campo, and his wife Genevieve, an interior designer. Chris's three-level house design includes no corridors and clever joinery, such as a timber wall between the dining room and kitchen that doesn't reach the. "This floating partition is a space breaker instead of a space inhibitor;' he explains.”It invites in -extra light and space.” Numerous horizontal windows have been carefully placed to increase the light flow and allow glimpses of greenery into the home.