9
VISION 52 – MITCHELL ST RESIDENCE NORTHCOTE
They are designs with an unmistakable signature.
Raffoul stretches and teases a myriad of shapes playing
glass and concrete off one another with sculptural élan.
He takes sketched ideas, refines and resolves these
with robust delicacy and planar elegance.
While Raffoul’s residential designs are clearly upmarket,
the principles of space utilisation, occupant circulation
and organisational clarity are possible on most budgets.
It’s an approach that elevates ordinary shelter to lighten
the visual and physical forces in uplifting ways. His regard
for the best modernist traditions sees materials utilised
to full effect – concrete for privacy and thermal massing,
glass for a crystal cave effect of spatial and visual
connections.
One key difference between the plain old act of building
and considered design is the ratio of glazing to plaster,
brick and timber. Poor design tends to drive the eye
towards fittings and finishes whereas seriously good
design rewards inward, outward, upward and beyond.
We want the architecture
to present itself but also
take a backwards step for
the inhabitants.
FERAS RAFFOUL, ARCHITECT