Inside Out House: Bringing the Outside In and the Inside, Out

Inside Out House (Cut Paw Paw House) by Andrew Maynard Architects

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House is a renovation and extension to a double fronted weatherboard home in Seddon, Australia designed by Andrew Maynard Architects. Cut Paw Paw is the name of the parish in which the house presides. It caught the attention of the owners because it was unusual and unique — the architects liked it too, so it became the name of this inside out house.

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Urban Homes, Heritage
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Water Collection, COLORBOND® Steel, Surfmist®

Deliberately Incomplete

Inspired by construction sites, Andrew Maynard Architects aimed to make a home that was every bit as fascinating and full of potential in this home. Therefore it is left deliberately incomplete, perhaps to be added to and expanded on as time passes…

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Outdoor Areas
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Outdoor Areas, Timber Deck, Baths

"When wandering the street and stumbling upon an anonymous house in construction we all get excited by the possibilities. We all imagine what the finished building could be like. The site holds so much promise when there is nothing more than a timber or steel frame. It is a jungle gym, a relic, and a skeleton full of play and imagination. Often it is when a building is at its most beautiful.

All too soon the excitement, the imagination and the potential comes crashing down as the reality of the finished building becomes apparent. When the anonymous house is roofed, clad and finished it is often a disappointment as the banality of the McMansion emerges. The beautiful skeleton that held such potential and required such imagination has been buried beneath the ordinary, the obvious and the banal. The home will not again be interesting until it eventually begins to crumble and decay." — Andrew Maynard Architects

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Timber Floors, Eames Chairs, Pendant Lighting
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Plywood Kitchen, Concrete Floors, White Kitchens, Pendant Lighting, Timber Kitchens

Inside Out

Derek and Michelle, the owners, asked that the house be 'ridiculously inside-out'. Andrew Maynard Architects use a number of strategies to ensure that the boundaries between inside and outside are not just blurred, but in most cases completely reversed.

Sliding walls, bifold doors and decks, and the fact that the building is left incomplete all help to invert the sense of indoors and outdoors.

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Joinery, Plywood, Concrete Floors, White Kitchens, Rugs
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Fireplaces, Timber Floors, Pendant Lighting, Bedrooms

"The central space, between the dining area and the studio, is an unclad frame within and surrounded by garden. It is both inside and outside. It is both a new building and an old ruin. It is both garden and home." — Andrew Maynard Architects

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Outdoor Areas, Plywood Kitchen, Timber Floors, Eames Chairs, Dining Areas, COLORBOND® Steel, Surfmist®
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Outdoor Areas, Dining Areas, COLORBOND® Steel, Surfmist®
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Outdoor Areas, COLORBOND® Steel, Surfmist®

Sustainability

Andrew Maynard Architects have developed a reputation for their unique approach to sustainability. The sustainability of the final home is always at the heart of the initial design phases. In this case the extension hugs the southern boundary to provide maximum north light to the living areas. Sure, the architects could have just extruded the existing house's form, but this way the home will be cheaper to heat and more joyous to live in.

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Joinery, Concrete Floors, Timber Floors, Pendant Lighting, Sliding Door, Curtains, Bedrooms
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Joinery, Timber Floors, Pendant Lighting, Sliding Door, Curtains

More Sustainability

Additionally all windows are double glazed to keep the heat in in winter and out in summer. A white roof reduces heat absorption and minimises the home's urban heat sink impact. And high performance insulation has been added everywhere, even in the walls of the original house.

The master stroke for both sustainability and aesthetics is a pond which runs along the north facing windows. It provides a home for fish, plants and frogs, but also passively cools the house through natural evaporative cooling. You have to love a win-win design solution.

Water tanks and solar panels are a given as they are in all of Andrew Maynard's projects.

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Brick Houses, Timber Floors, Eames Chairs, Pendant Lighting, Dining Areas
Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
Joinery, Eames Chairs

Cut Paw Paw Inside Out House by Andrew maynard Architects (via Lunchbox Architect)
House Plans

Inside Out House

Inside Out House captures the excitement and intrigue of a construction site without sacrificing the finesse and quality of a finished well-detailed project. It also succeeds in feeling both inside and outside. The connection between the indoors and outdoors is blurred to the point of not existing anymore, an outcome many architects strive for, but which is pulled off expertly in this project. Now, time to sit back and relax in that stunning outdoor bath…

If you like the way Inside Out House breaks down the boundaries between inside and outside, take a look at this weatherboard extension in Brisbane. Or this green oasis in Vietnam

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