Architecture

Cut Paw Paw house lets the outside in

Cut Paw Paw house lets the outside in
The Cut Paw Paw house, by Australia's Andrew Maynard Architects (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The Cut Paw Paw house, by Australia's Andrew Maynard Architects (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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You'll often hear architects banging on about semi-outdoor spaces, but rarely does a home embody this idea as fully as the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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You'll often hear architects banging on about semi-outdoor spaces, but rarely does a home embody this idea as fully as the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Andrew Maynard Architects was tasked with creating a "ridiculously inside-out" house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Andrew Maynard Architects was tasked with creating a "ridiculously inside-out" house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Cut Paw Paw is a renovation and extension of a standard weatherboard home in Seddon, Victoria (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Cut Paw Paw is a renovation and extension of a standard weatherboard home in Seddon, Victoria (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The interior of the main body of the house has been renovated too, and now includes two bedrooms (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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The interior of the main body of the house has been renovated too, and now includes two bedrooms (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Cut Paw Paw house was completed in 2014(Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Cut Paw Paw house was completed in 2014(Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The architects clearly had some fun with the design, as there's a bathtub installed within the uncovered section of extension (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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The architects clearly had some fun with the design, as there's a bathtub installed within the uncovered section of extension (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The kitchen area (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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The kitchen area (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The Cut Paw Paw house, by Australia's Andrew Maynard Architects (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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The Cut Paw Paw house, by Australia's Andrew Maynard Architects (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Looking inside from the garden (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Looking inside from the garden (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
A garden pond should help lower the local temperature via evaporative cooling (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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A garden pond should help lower the local temperature via evaporative cooling (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Andrew Maynard Architects installed high-performance insulation all over the house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Andrew Maynard Architects installed high-performance insulation all over the house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Rainwater is directed from the roof to water tanks which provide water for toilet-flushing, the washing machine and garden irrigation (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Rainwater is directed from the roof to water tanks which provide water for toilet-flushing, the washing machine and garden irrigation (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Side-view of the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Side-view of the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The music studio (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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The music studio (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
Side-view of the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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Side-view of the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The covered section of extension closest to the main boy of house contains a kitchen, lounge, and dining area (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
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The covered section of extension closest to the main boy of house contains a kitchen, lounge, and dining area (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The uncovered skeletal section looks incomplete (Photo: Tess Kelly)
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The uncovered skeletal section looks incomplete (Photo: Tess Kelly)
Inside the semi-outdoor extension (Photo: Tess Kelly)
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Inside the semi-outdoor extension (Photo: Tess Kelly)
You'll often hear architects banging-on about semi-outdoor spaces, but rarely does a home embody this idea as fully as the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Tess Kelly)
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You'll often hear architects banging-on about semi-outdoor spaces, but rarely does a home embody this idea as fully as the Cut Paw Paw house (Photo: Tess Kelly)
Andrew Maynard Architects was tasked with creating a "ridiculously inside-out" house (Photo: Tess Kelly)
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Andrew Maynard Architects was tasked with creating a "ridiculously inside-out" house (Photo: Tess Kelly)
The kitchen area (Photo: Tess Kelly)
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The kitchen area (Photo: Tess Kelly)
The dining area (Photo: Tess Kelly)
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The dining area (Photo: Tess Kelly)
Cut Paw Paw house was completed in 2014(Photo: Tess Kelly)
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Cut Paw Paw house was completed in 2014(Photo: Tess Kelly)
View gallery - 23 images

Australia's Andrew Maynard Architects was tasked with creating a "ridiculously inside-out" extension to a small suburban home in Seddon, Victoria. The firm rose to the challenge and produced an unusual living space dubbed Cut Paw Paw, that blurs the line between indoors and outdoors.

The first part of the extension, closest to the main body of the house, contains a kitchen, lounge, and dining area. This area is sheltered from the elements but sliding and double doors open up the space when weather permits. At first glance, one might dismiss the rest of the extension as weird for the sake of it, but the design makes sense.

The clients required a music studio and storage space at the far end of the garden. Rather than simply installing a separate building, Andrew Maynard Architects lengthened the extension with an unclad section to create a tangible connection between the studio and kitchen areas, and offer a semi-outdoor space in between. The architects obviously had some fun with the design, and installed a bathtub for outdoor bathing (there is a more private bathroom in the main body of the house too).

The architects clearly had some fun with the design, as there's a bathtub installed within the uncovered section of extension (Photo: Peter Bennetts)
The architects clearly had some fun with the design, as there's a bathtub installed within the uncovered section of extension (Photo: Peter Bennetts)

"Construction sites are fascinating and often very beautiful. When wandering the street and stumbling upon an anonymous house in construction we all get excited by the possibilities," explains Andrew Maynard Architects, regarding the unusual design. "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."

Cut Paw Paw boasts some green cred, too. High-performance insulation was installed wherever possible (including the main body of the original house), and rainwater is directed from the roof to tanks which provide water for toilet-flushing, the washing machine, and garden irrigation. In addition, openings and windows are situated to optimize passive cooling, and a garden pond directly next to the extension helps cool the immediate area through evaporative cooling.

Cut Paw Paw was completed in 2014.

Source: Andrew Maynard Architects

View gallery - 23 images
1 comment
1 comment
Wombat56
i think in this case Paw Paw is the Australian name for papaya.