Community Living

This 6-bay IMBY located in Katoomba is used by a married couple as a studio and garden room. The structure was put together over the course of two weeks by one of the homeowners.

IMBYs are available in a range of sizes, from smaller two-bay structures to up to about 12 bays long.

House in Tsukawaki second floor plan

House in Tsukawaki first floor plan

Located just off the kitchen, dining, and living areas, the climbing wall is at the heart of the home.

Large windows at the rear of the home allow the family to look out while maintaining their privacy.

A horizontal datum line is carried from the elevation through the home. The window sash height, ceiling, and floor height are all aligned in accordance with the outer wall steel plate layout.

The sense of the outdoors is particularly strong in the central atrium; the space is awash in light and shadow.

The kitchen leads directly to the lush garden.

At over 500 square feet, the house’s green roof may be its most powerful—and most expensive—environmental statement. It cost $8,000 to waterproof, and $7,000 to landscape. Water from the roof feeds the toilet and the garden’s watering system, and the garden itself insulates the house and keeps gas bills low in winter. Photo by Nic Granleese.

Sited to respect existing site features and topography, the two studios respectfully interact with the subtle tension of the shared space between them shaped by angled walls that frame and celebrate the surrounding countryside.

Inside, wall space is prioritized, with concealed plywood blocking to support hanging work.

For the artists, the property and studios act as both inspiration and canvas, and anyone fortunate enough to wander the trails throughout the property is treated to natural and artistic delights.

The dark stained cedar exteriors, and galvanized metal roofs, house bright, warm interiors.

Fiedler Marciano chose the location of the studios and the materials palette with both the artists and the surroundings in mind.

The Powisset barn’s state-of-the-art learning kitchen hosts public classes on everything from jam-making to food security. Its aged floors and ceilings are packed with cellulose insulation. “We were motivated by the challenge of making energy-efficiency beautiful,” says architect Stephanie Horowitz.

Canyon Barn

In keeping with the Goodmans' desire for just enough subdivision for rooms to sleep and work in, Cohen inserted a two-story volume into one of the barn frame's side aisles. An additional small mezzanine over the kitchen serves as a play area for the grandchildren.

The location for the new restaurant, which opened in February 2010, was a barn on the ranch that had been used as a plant nursery. "It wasn't an incredibly old barn," Johanson says. "It was built around the 1970s, but it was built with a very agricultural look." To stay true to its form, Johanson and her colleagues Mark Wilson, Catharine Tarver, and Bridie McSweeney decided to leave as much of the structure intact as possible, playing up the post-and-beam system and revealing the shape of the roof on the interior.