FORGET dancing in the moonlight, at 8 Merinda Street Greenslopes, bathing in the
moonlight is the name of the game.
Renowned architect Suzanne Bosanquet’s family home boasts a boundary-pushing
master suite, featuring an open-air bathroom seamlessly merging with the outdoors.
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“There is something about the experience of washing your body in light, as well as water,
that beats the mechanical ventilation and enclosed walls of a standard bathroom,” Ms
Bosanquet said.
“I have always done a lot of work centred around engaging with the outdoors so it
made sense my own home would be an extension of that.”
When Ms Bosanquet first purchased the bare block a decade ago, she knew she had her
work cut out for her.
“If you took one look at the block before we built on it, you’d see only an architect would
have been mad enough to touch it,” she said.
“There were four mango trees, two camphor laurel, macadamia trees and two protected
hoop pines on a slope.
“It was a true to its name a green slope in Greenslopes — which I happen to think is
Brisbane’s best kept secret inner-city suburb.”
Drawing from expertise acquired on Olympic stadium projects in Beijing to private
residences on Hayman Island, Ms Bosanquet also took inspiration from minimalist
structures in Japan and Taiwan to dream up the modular style.
“The top and the bottom rectangle counteract in such robust form, and the floorplan was
all about creating a type of bird’s nest with those four bedrooms, which as a mother of
four boys was very literal,” she said.
“Things like epoxy concrete in the bathroom to avoid grout was all part of the mission to
simplify the family home.
“But the positioning of the structure was also very environmentally friendly.
“The hoop pines drove the whole alignment and the kitchen is hoop pine plywood as a
nod to us sliding these two rectangle boxes onto this site and engaging with the existent
surroundings.”
And, although defying convention, the wall-free master bathroom has been a hit for the
eight years the family has spent in the house.
“The stone bath holds so much warmth, so I’ve had baths outside in thunderstorms and
in winter and with butterflies around me,” Ms Bosanquet said.
“There is a discipline itself in removing walls and integrating indoor and outdoor spaces
to make the most of a site.
“That whole concept celebrates the best of tropical Asian modern architecture in my
opinion.”
The six-bedroom, four-bathroom abode comes complete with a home gym, storage
area, and lush manicured gardens with a luxury resort-style pool.
Naturally ventilated, the space requires no cooling or heating, with the structure
maintaining its own year-round “micro-climate.”
“This home is a great example of how passive design actually works in Queensland,”
Ms Bosanquet said.
Just minutes to the CBD, the property is within walking distance of Martha Street cafes,
Stones Corner, and the Whites Hill Reserve track.
8 Merinda Street is currently for sale with Paula Pierce and Mikaela Crone of Place Bulimba.
The post Bathing in the moonlight: The outdoor bathroom without walls trend is back appeared first on realestate.com.au.
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