Barrett Pinet Architecture

Designers create the 'impossible' zero-carbon house - BBC News Designers at Cardiff University say they have built a low-cost, zero-carbon house - just the sort of home Chancellor George Osborne once described as impossible.

Alterations and additions to a very large suburban two bedroom villa that was built more than 70 years ago with little reference to the site's panoramic views over Sydney Harbour. The proposal enhances views to the harbour, increases the internal size of the house, adds a third bedroom at the first floor, reconstructs the western side of the house with an extended patio, incorporates an enhanced basement level and constructs a swimming pool and deck (Design, Development Approval; Detail and Construction by Owner).

Alterations and additions to a federation bungalow, remodeling the rear of the house, improving the relationship to the garden and adding a new dual occupancy unit at the rear. The clients have a grown up child and wish to accommodate his and their own needs. The proposal focuses on the courtyard defined by the glazed rear of the refurbished old house and the new dual occupancy unit across the garden which has its own terrace. Living areas of both dwellings open onto the courtyard, with heavy planting used to achieve privacy (Schematic Design, Development Application, Construction Certificate, Construction).

Proposal for medium density housing adjacent to Newcastle's Throsby Creek. The design concept consists of a series of finger-like slab buildings and residential courts which open out to Throsby creek and make implied connections between the east and west shores of the precinct. An urban framework is proposed that provides for a mix of residential accommodation, community facilities, recreational amenities, courtyards, parks, retail and business uses. A range of urban housing models based on the transformation of the walk-up slab and semi-detached house are developed providing a site density of 85 dwellings per hectare on the site. The housing is organised into neighbourhood blocks centred on residential courts and connected by car courts. The clear organisation of the whole into discrete and identifiable parts allows easy staging and implementation (Design competition, with Frank Stanisic Architects).

Our proposal is for a sustainable, diverse community with individual character offering living, working and recreating environments at Sydneyʻs East Darling Harbour. Completing the CBD's western edge, it continues the existing city pattern and ensures uninterrupted pedestrian access from King Street Wharf to Walsh Bay and from the communities in and around Millers Point to the foreshore of Darling Harbour. Its location demands a unique approach to urban design providing a range of mixed uses that modern experts recognise as necessary to the sustainability of all such developments. Key elements include a transparent, walkable public domain for pedestrians, economic stimulators of shopping districts and commercial ventures; and enhanced tourist facilities (International design competition).

Designed for an impressive harbourfront site, this new house steps down the slope from the street and a garage at the top, to the pool and harbour at the bottom. The first level down is the main living and kitchen area, followed by bedrooms on the next two levels down. A stepped walkway leads down to an open-air gazebo. The house has been designed around four significant Angophora and other trees on the site, which constrain the building footprint and type of construction. An 8m height limit conditions the stepped form of the house. The upper part of the house is concrete and masonry, while the lower part and vaults are lightweight steel and timber frame construction (Design, Development Application , partial Construction Documentation, partial Construction Certificate Application - realisation by separate Design & Construct team).

This project is for a house on a site directly facing the spectacular El Pinar beachfront at the eastern perimeter of Montevideo. The house is designed to be built at as a staged project, initially with a modest elevated single family house, followed by ground level infill and subsequently a guest wing. The final building is grouped to create a secured courtyard. The main house will have three levels with views over the dunes to the sea (Design).

Alterations, additions to an art gallery: several proposals were made to help the owners understand how their requirements could fit the particularities of this historic building. Of the many elements proposed only the very minimum was built to allow functionality to the gallery. All alteration and all additions were done sympathetically with the preservation and enhancement of the original building as a priority. The change affecting the facade was the removal of the infill of one of the archways that had been left in previous recent renovations. Other internal alterations were built with minor impact on the original structure. New moveable walls to increase the wall space for exhibition were also designed and have been built (Design, Development Approval, Construction Documentation, Construction)

This project for alterations and additions to a large house for a couple in Sydney's most exclusive suburb. The house was the subject of prior alterations by the previous owner, and the new owners, our client, wanted to improve the existing character and change some of the planning of the house. The master bedroom, dressing and enstuite have been relocated, guest bedrooms altered, the living areas reorganized, bathrrooms remodelled, kitchen replaced, home technology upgraded, windows and doors replaced, internal stairs remodelled, external tiling replaced, colour schemes altered, and passive environmental control systems improved (Designs, Development Application, Construction Documents, Construction Certificate, Tender, Construction)

Barrett Pinet Architecture and architects Roger Barrett and Danielle Pinet have been widely featured in the press for the past 30 years.