Completed project

Arc House

Brighton

Architect: MIM Design
Landscape: Jack Merlo Landscape Design
Builder: Siji Projects
Scope: Basement construction · Front extension · Complex structural works · Full interior renovation · Landscape transformation

The project

A beachfront home, rebuilt from within

Arc House is a beachfront home in Brighton, designed by MIM Design with landscape by Jack Merlo Landscape Design. The project added a basement extension and rebuilt the house above it.

The original home was three levels of hollow core concrete. To excavate the basement beneath it, the whole structure was held on cantilevered propping, all three levels at once. The only part of the existing house that stayed was its slabs. Every stage was worked through in detailed coordination with the engineer.

Living space opening to the bay, a ship on the horizon — The bay, present in every main room

Glazed study at Arc House, the bay on the horizon beyond — The bay, present in every main room

The brief

Curves, drawn once and built once

The design language is curved. Sculpted plaster, arched joinery, stone with soft radii. Geometry like this leaves nowhere to hide, so every setout line, shadow gap and junction was resolved before the trades reached it.

The result needed to feel effortless. Getting there is documentation discipline, trade coordination and a site culture that checks twice.

The sculpted plaster stair rising through curved walls — The sculpted plaster stair

Detail of the curved plaster balustrade — The sculpted plaster stair

The challenge

Three levels, held on cantilevered props

Holding three levels of hollow core slabs while excavating the basement beneath them meant extensive temporary works. The structure was carried on cantilevered propping while new supports were built underneath.

Demolition, excavation and new structure were staged in sequence, coordinated with the engineer and reviewed before each stage was released.

The propped structure front on, three storeys held above the cleared ground — Three storeys carried on temporary props while the basement was dug

Steel props carrying the floor slab over the open basement — Three storeys carried on temporary props while the basement was dug

The corner of the home held on props above the excavation — New supports built beneath the existing structure, stage by stage

Two of the team installing a steel prop beneath a propped beam — New supports built beneath the existing structure, stage by stage

Looking down the curved stair, stone treads beneath a cove-lit ceiling — The finished stair, sculpted overhead

The domed, cove-lit ceiling above the stair — The finished stair, sculpted overhead

The craft

Curves, resolved in the making

Much of the curved detail was resolved as the build went on. The design developed on site, drawn, trialled and agreed in step with MIM Design.

The stone shows it best. Long seamless curved pieces were craned in through the windows and finished in place, so the veining runs unbroken around each radius.

The metalwork was made the same way. Architectural metal was curved in Melbourne, then sent to Sydney to be anodised. The curved finger pulls were machined with custom-made CNC cutters, ground specifically for the job.

The home is extensively automated, fitted with the latest technology throughout.

Stone fireplace clad as a full-height column with concealed vents — Stone fireplaces with soft radii

Stone fireplace detail with sculpted plaster surround — Stone fireplaces with soft radii

Frameless glass partitions opening the plan, room to room — Frameless glass, the plan opening room to room

Living space with frameless glass and a planted light well beyond — Frameless glass, the plan opening room to room

Living and study space with the bay beyond — Living spaces and the junctions that resolve them

Joinery and stone junction detail — Living spaces and the junctions that resolve them

Bronze screen detail — Bronze screens and curved finger pulls

Wardrobe doors with curved finger pulls — Bronze screens and curved finger pulls

Site update over the build, from above

The outcome

Flow, from the front door to the foreshore

The completed house moves in one continuous line. Curved rooms open to the bay, the basement carries the services and the garden by Jack Merlo Landscape Design finishes the setting.

A complex renovation, delivered while protecting the design at every stage.

Detail notes

Three levels of hollow core slabs held on cantilevered propping
Seamless curved stone, craned in through the windows and finished on site
Architectural metalwork curved in Melbourne, anodised in Sydney
Curved finger pulls machined with custom-made CNC cutters
A sculpted plaster stair with a continuous curved balustrade
Bronze screens and stone fireplaces with soft radii
Extensively automated, with the latest technology throughout