Q&A

In conversation

Architect Zoe Diacolabrianos / Project: Il Duomo

“Life’s too short for boring spaces” is our motto. We love creating colourful and textured spaces and have a passion for celebrating Australian architecture through our work, drawing contextual nods into our spaces. With so much variance, brick – from apricots to deep hawthorn reds – tells the story of a place and an era. It’s the perfect material to speak to context, and also add warmth and texture. The existing home and its Carlton North neighbourhood are typified by mottled brick textures. To bring in natural light, we created a series of courtyards and cut-outs that reveal the bricks on surrounding houses. So we brought this context back into the house, to embed the project in its surroundings. Using brick internally Il Duomo was about imbuing the spaces with the Italian heritage of the existing house. The owner was keen to embrace a high-vaulted ceiling and tiles [from a previous renovation] in the design. Referencing its Florentine namesake, pinks, greens, deep reds and whites are used throughout, brought together and anchored by the white Miró bricks. They add texture and weightiness, which conventional plaster couldn’t achieve. The matching mortar also creates subtle striations and extra interest. We are constantly experimenting and seeing how we can use brick to make something extraordinary.