Mark Ryan Designs, Sunshine Coast Building Designer

Noosa Hill Reno.

Mark Ryan — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 05:18:16 +0000

The clients had already had some drawings done for a renovation of the existing residence, unfortunately the brief got a bit out of hand and the end result was more of a rebuild than a reno., the budget was blown sky high and the clean lines of the building were completely lost. The clients then asked if I would draw up a simpler addition that retained the shape of the existing residence, modernised the interior and gave them some more much needed space. The block is steeply sloping and part of the brief was to provide parking for approx. 3 vehicles, this was achieved by canterlevering a concrete slab on the lower level which minimised the disturbance to the hillside and avoided any chance of slippage. The build is due for completion around the end of 2011.

Thinking outside the box

Mark Ryan — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:50:26 +0000

Containers just seem to be a perfect fit for construction, just like over sized building blocks, structurally strong and incredibly adaptable, just add imagination. Section 8 did the famous container bar in a carpark in Melbourne which is well worth a visit. I found this fantastic example on the Doornob website by the very talented Costa Rican architect and artist Benjamin Garcia Saxe.

How green was my swimming pool?

Mark Ryan — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 00:18:49 +0000

A friend who is always coming up with new ideas rang and asked me if I knew any pool builders that build naturally filtered pools, I didn’t, but it did pique my curiosity. After a quick search I was rewarded with some great images and interesting facts. I found an excerpt from a back issue of Sanctuary magazine, which then led me to a couple of other sites, thanks to gartenART Australia and Aquaviva Australia for the information and images.

Eerwah Vale alteration + addition

Mark Ryan — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:20:38 +0000

The brief for this project started out as an exercise in comparison and character. When we first spoke about their project, the clients weren’t sure whether they wanted to build a new addition to the existing residence or buy an old barn, move it to site and then renovate it. The clients own acreage tucked away in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, with lush rolling hills, a postcard view and a permanent creek. Their existing house is in it’s simplist form a small bessar block box, but it has had some earlier additions and internal character features that more than make up for it’s simple form and basic architecture. The clients wanted to reconfugure the internal layout of the existing house and create a new living pavilion to give their growing family room to move. The first decision that needed to made was that of old or new, character versus contemporary. After a couple of of design proposals were explored it was decided that a new structure would probably allow for a more tailored result as well as being able to compliment and intergrate with the existing house. The resulting pavilion ended up with a modern barn feel that ticked all the boxes.

Light up your life

Mark Ryan — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:31:14 +0000

If you’re into lighting and architectural screens then Yellow Goat Design is a must visit site, their lighting designs are some of the most imaginative and coolest on the planet. These guys take lighting to a new level. It’s fantastic to see lots of big companies featuring their products. A new addition to their product range is the hanging sculptures that are designed for large voids or high ceiling commercial projects.

Bathroom Inspiration

Mark — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:38:59 +0000

I have just discovered a great new blog called Ideas To Steal. It’s in Norwegian and English and has fantastic articles on all sorts of design ideas for your home.
I was thinking about bathrooms the other day and found a nice collection of bathroom ideas from their site with links to the designer or supplier. Here are a few pics to whet your appetite:

And this nice black tile bathroom features an open plan with nice rain shower:

You might be thinking that these baths and fittings could be expensive and ordinarily you’d be right but we recently discovered local bath and fitting supplier, Highgrove Bathrooms, in Warana, who have a great range of designer baths, showers and tap-ware
at very affordable prices.

Housing competition

Mark Ryan — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:11:05 +0000

Recently the Insurance Council of Australia ran a competition for residential housing designed to withstand the more extreme elements of our climate. In light of the weather events of the past 12 months or so, the council obviously thought it prudent to become a bit more proactive to potentially minimise the impact of our changing climate on it’s members and the home owners of Australia. It is good to see institutions like this getting on the front foot and encouraging people to think about design issues that will eventually affect us all, and hopefully lead to more climate responsive and adaptive housing.

Seacove Homes of Noosaville asked me to get involved and submit a combined entry. The design criteria included size restrictions, a sloping block, min. 3br and of course the ability to withstand a range of climatic conditions. The design is built around the 7 x 3.5m modular system used by Seacove in all of their homes. This is our entry, which is now available part of the range of homes offered by Seacove Homes.

All green and fuzzy all over

Mark Ryan — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 02:43:19 +0000

Green architecture as a living part of the landscape.

Glass blocks, where have you been?

Mark Ryan — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 02:31:30 +0000

While many of us had clearly written off glass blocks as a passing fad of the seventies, relegated to the annals of questionable architectural fashion, never to be seen again in any substanial numbers, or heaven forbid in a multitude of smart architectural projects. And for those of us whose most enduring memory of the block is their extensive use in public toilet blocks around our various city streets, public gardens and parks, the mere mention of them evokes a cold somewhat clinical memory best left undisturbed.

Until now that is!

Glass blocks are alive and well and living it up in Europe!

The clever people at Seves have been beavering away like crazy, creating a whole new look for the humble and much maligned glass block. With new colours, patterns, shapes and sizes and credits in a slew of very smart projects. It’s time to take a second look at the world of glass blocks, and maybe a much deserved rethink.

Thanks go to Dion Sanders from GBQ for the great product update.

Innovative Tiny Apartments

Mark — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 01:04:46 +0000

We’re lucky on the coast that we have enough space to create decent sized living environments. But with some ingenuity and good design even the smallest space can be
turned into something quite extraordinary and very liveable.

First of all, this video shows how re-thinking the way we use our living spaces you can create a very unique and liveable home:

Back in Australia, Sydney based Anthony Gill Architects created an amazing home for a young couple and their young child in just 38sq/m.

You can read more about this apartment on the freshome website – very clever use of space. The parent’s bed slides under the cupboards through and underneath a small raised floor in the child’s bedroom.

It makes me wonder whether we really do use the space in our homes to their maximum capacity.