veiled house
surry hills. nsw. australia

the project proposes a conversion of a 2 bedroom, two storey terrace to three bedrooms by adding an additional level + ground floor rear extension. an 8m high x 2.5m metre wide black anodised laser cut screen is proposed to veil the entire infill section (entry) of the house which we conceived to be of a highly decorative but light articulation.

this side volume was originally an 1800's easement lane access which was eventually amalgamated with the adjacent property. rather than mimic the period style of the restored house we have proposed a contemporary volume to replace the void. the laser cut screen acts as a security veil to the house whilst on the first level it provides visual privacy to the translucent glazed bathroom window panel.

the design of the veil has matured since the initial design phase in which we further developed a circle packing script to produce a lace blooming algorithm = lace screen.


initial lace bloom patterning

as beautiful and complex as it seemed during the design process, it was just intensely articulated and highly disconnected from the australian colonial streetscape.

instead… an exploration through a series of photographs documenting various folds in fabric helped understand the weighting of light to dark areas within the screen apertures, providing a differentiation in amenity, privacy and light projection.

since then we’ve been  writing a fabric arrangement script that responds to constraints and forces within a topological framework – a basis for further research.  the design seeks to veil the infill section (which comprised of the entry to the house and the glazed bathroom to the first floor.  through writing a grasshopper vb script we were able to control the draped arrangement, screening and securing the sensitive volume of the dwelling.

photography: felix forest

stage: complete



image illustrating the black anodised draped infill with respect to street elevation


street view


entry perspective


dining / kitchen


courtyard green wall


main bathroom behind veiled screen


rear garden with roof terrace