Rosso Verde by Carter Williamson
Rosso Verde by Carter Williamson demonstrates clever use of form and space within an existing warehouse conversion.
Words: Hande Renshaw I Photography: Pablo Veiga
Photo: Pablo Veiga
Photo: Pablo Veiga
Inner-city living can be a tricky affair. Space is usually at a premium, so designing your dream house often comes with constraints and spatial sacrifices.
Rosso Verde, on Gadigal Country in Camperdown, is an alteration to an existing warehouse which draws on clever spatial planning, making the most of each inch of space, prevailing the notion that bigger is always better.
For the design, Carter Williamson focused on the quality of each room, the access to the garden and the abundant natural light throughout the new spaces.
Design decisions included removing close to a third of the roof, the built fabric was carved away to create a central landscaped courtyard, bringing in light, air, and greenery into the plan.
‘Relinquishing interior space in this way helped to meet a brief that called not for more space, but for a more clearly defined and rational plan within the former warehouse,’ says Carter Williamson.
As the design process unfolded, the structure revealed many unsuspecting qualities, developing into a set of interiors with layers and character.
Once you step inside Rosso Verde, you’re immediately struck by a large curved opening in the ceiling. It spans a significant portion of the depth of the home – one of the four subdivided within a historic industrial factory, each of which adjoin a central communal pool.
The void draws the eye upwards, adding a sense of vertical space, connecting the two levels of the building– a natural solution for a growing young family, providing the freedom to be within earshot and call out to each other from different spaces.
The void itself is beyond the functional also. The architectural form serves as a visual motif that appears throughout in an embrace of sculptural curvature, softening the industrial bones of the building, and warming key material finishes such as steel and marble.
On the courtyard façade, expansive windows reach upwards, whilst the double-lipped marble benchtop running perpendicular to the void creates a playful conversation between two intersecting forms.
The original brief had not called for any more rooms but rather more defined rooms; a desire on the part of the owners to create clearly delineated zones over the more open-plan nature typical of warehouse conversions.
In the kitchen, burgundy and dusty pink Breccia Rosso marble makes a bold statement – the arched counter in perpendicular conversation with the void. The rich, earthy tones pair delicately with brass- hued curtains and the thriving greenery that provides the courtyard with its own sub-tropical canopy.
The choice of materials, light, and warm colour palette give each space a true sense of calm. In particular, the mild green of the living space ceiling complements the deep reds of the windows and kitchen counter, a contemporary softening and celebration of the existing warehouse fabric
Photo: Pablo Veiga
