TRIAS

TRIAS TRIAS is an architecture practice in Sydney, Australia. The studio is founded on three principles: to create buildings that are solid. simple. beautiful.

T R I A S is a design practice based in Sydney, Australia. The studio is led by Jennifer McMaster and Jonathon Donnelly. The studio is founded on three principles: to create buildings that are solid, simple and beautiful. We believe that well designed spaces enrich people’s lives. We aim to create buildings that provide people with meaning, comfort and joy. As designers, we advocate for less but b

etter. Our buildings adopt small footprints, but are generous in their relationship to light, air and outlook.

Last night, we also won a Commendation at the NSW AIA Awards for our Hidden Garden House. This project was in the Altera...
01/07/2022

Last night, we also won a Commendation at the NSW AIA Awards for our Hidden Garden House. This project was in the Alterations and Additions category.

Hidden Garden House is a very small project, brought to life by a shared commitment to give this terrace a second life. Everyone who was involved in the project was willing to take risks and experiment - especially Laura, who handmade so many of the tiles and designed countless items throughout the home.

As architects, we often get the opportunity to transform the buildings we already have. When done well, this has such a positive impact on our cities, suburbs and landscapes. It allows us to improve and reimagine the places we already have, and shake the assumption that something new is inevitably better. We learn to be flexible and inventive, and to create within constraint.

In this home, we all saw the value of adding another layer of history, and of enhancing the character of what we found. The result is a reinvention; this terrace is no longer dark and damp, but light and welcoming, and interrupted by the delight and surprise of a hidden garden. It is a sanctuary in the dense inner city.

Thank you to the jury for recognising this home amongst such an outstanding shortlist. We feel very humbled and honoured.

And thank you to our project team - to Laura and Aman (), our clients, to Stefan and the team at , to Kirsty from and the team at . Well done to you all, we are very proud.

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We are incredibly proud to have won two prizes for our Curl Curl House at last night’s NSW Australian Institute of Archi...
01/07/2022

We are incredibly proud to have won two prizes for our Curl Curl House at last night’s NSW Australian Institute of Architecture Awards: an Award for New Houses and a Commendation Award for Sustainability.

Our clients for this project approached us when we were two years into our practice. We had a small studio in Darlinghurst, and a handful of completed projects, but little more to our name.

Despite our slender portfolio of built work, they believed in our ability as a young team and gave us an inordinate amount of trust as we designed their home.

In partnership with a remarkable project team, we created a home that our clients love, and that embodies our studio’s ambition to make high quality architecture that responds to our changing climate.

Trias recently celebrated its fifth birthday. To some, we are still a young studio and our portfolio is steadily extending. As this happens, we are beyond delighted that to be receiving recognition for all our hard work, from peers we respect and look up to.

Thank you to our courageous clients for taking us on, and our collaborators - , .studio___ , , and all of the trades and subcontractors. We did this together.

And thanks to the jury for supporting this project and, by extension, our studio.

We are very pleased to see our Hidden Garden House included within Issue 09 of The Local Project. This magazine is a sta...
16/06/2022

We are very pleased to see our Hidden Garden House included within Issue 09 of The Local Project. This magazine is a staple on our studio's bookshelf, and we always enjoy poring through its pages, which - in our humble opinion - showcase some of the best new architecture from across Australia and New Zealand.

Hidden Garden House is a tiny terrace renovation situated on a 45 square metre site in the inner-city. The design is based around a private courtyard garden, which provides a green oasis within the bustle of Sydney's streets. When asked to describe the project in a single word, we used the word 'calm.'

Our project team poured a lot of love into this project, so it's a real victory to be able to share it with a wide audience of design enthusiasts via The Local Project's impeccably curated pages.

Thanks to The Local Project for the feature, and to our remarkable project team - Laura, Aman, Stefan and team, and Kirsty - for helping to make it happen

With

Photography by

Some progress from our Curl Curl House, documented by Clinton Weaver.⠀⠀Photography by ⠀Builder ⠀Structural engineering ⠀...
27/10/2021

Some progress from our Curl Curl House, documented by Clinton Weaver.⠀
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Photography by ⠀
Builder ⠀
Structural engineering ⠀
Interior design and styling .studio___⠀
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Last night, Minima won a Commendation in the Sustainability category of the NSW AIA Architecture awards. We are so pleas...
03/07/2021

Last night, Minima won a Commendation in the Sustainability category of the NSW AIA Architecture awards. We are so pleased to see this tiny project of ours recognised amongst such inspiring work from our peers. Congratulations to all of the other projects awarded and shortlisted - it's a testament to the effort, creativity and ingenuity that it takes to make outstanding architecture. ⠀
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With .prefab⠀
Photography by ⠀⠀
Engineering by ⠀⠀
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We get a lot of brilliant questions about how we make our design models. As many of you know, we make all of our models ...
02/08/2020

We get a lot of brilliant questions about how we make our design models. As many of you know, we make all of our models in-house and by hand. They are not just for display, but are tools that we use to design, test options and make decisions. So, today, we thought we'd share some details about our model-making process and the steps involved. This particular model is for an upcoming project in Mosman, and was chiefly made by the talented . ⠀
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Stage One involved making a foam base and cutting out the neighbouring buildings, for context and scale. At this point, we used the model to help test landscaping decisions in three dimensions. The base was contoured vertically, so that segments could easily be cut and pared back. We fiddled with these pieces until the desired landscaping gestures were achieved. ⠀
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Stage Two involved trimming the foam base. We then skinned it with a balsa wood veneer on all four sides. Following this, the foam top was coated in several layers of plasterboard filler, to smooth out the rough foam beneath. During this process, small details - such as the landscape stairs - were carefully carved out, demonstrating paths through the garden.⠀
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Stage Three is when we slowly assembled the building, constructing the model from the ground up. We tested options for facades and internal walls, experimenting with scale, thresholds and proportion. In this process, every opening and vista was carefully considered. As we built the house, we also refined the surrounding landscape and terraces, crafting connections between inside and out. In this part of the model, the filler was sanded down through the grits, and patched where necessary. ⠀
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Stage Four involved painting the neighbours and slotting them in beside our proposal. Scaled trees were carefully fitted into the garden. The house itself was built in such a way that it could be pulled apart: the roof and walls can be removed, allowing our clients to peer inside and see their future home. @ Mosman, New South Wales, Australia

On sustainability. Last week, the president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) declared that "the clima...
02/07/2019

On sustainability. Last week, the president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) declared that "the climate emergency is the biggest challenge facing our planet and our profession."⠀
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We all know the construction industry generates enormous amounts of waste. Like so many industries, it treats stuff as disposable, despite the fact that everything - from a brick to a tile to a door handle - takes huge amounts of labour, time and resources to create. ⠀
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Here are some stats. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, from 2009 to 2010, the construction industry generated the largest volume of waste of any sector, tallying over 16.5 million tonnes. This represented 31% of total waste. ⠀
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On top of this, the largest volume of waste was of masonry materials - so brick, stone, concrete and so on. This accounted for 37% - or 19.8 million tonnes - of the total waste generated. ⠀
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As architects, these facts and figures puts us in a bind. What happens if we want to use concrete, or stone, for its beauty and longevity? Is it acceptable, or is it simply not good enough?⠀
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These are not easy questions, and our studio - for one - doesn't always have the answers. On top of this, we recognise that - at times - it's important to build new, and build well. Recent events here in Sydney remind us of the need for good quality construction in our cities, and especially in our homes. ⠀
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Yet, these environmental factors are harder and harder to ignore. Because of this, we are committed - in our small, humble practice - of pushing sustainability as far as we can, alongside our three ideals of solidity, simplicity and beauty. ⠀
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We did this at Three Piece House, where we took the existing home apart with our clients for re-use. We re-purposed its pieces as the base of the new house, prising apart the lime-mortar-bound bricks to to re-use them.⠀
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In a week where we've seen both RIBA and the City of Sydney declare a 'climate emergency,' it's well and truly time for our industry to act. So, today, we're reinforcing our commitment to foregrounding sustainability within our practice. We won't be perfect in this pursuit, but we'll be damned if we don't try. @ Darlinghurst, New South Wales

"Can Lis made me lament the way we live normally, locked up in boxes, with the blinds drawn and the air-conditioning on....
27/06/2019

"Can Lis made me lament the way we live normally, locked up in boxes, with the blinds drawn and the air-conditioning on. Instead, it forced me to be outside, connected to the world and its rhythms. It reminded me how joyful it feels to be aware of the air’s temperature, the passing light and the change in seasons.” ⠀
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Within each issue of Green magazine, a different architect is asked to write about a building that has inspired them. In the current issue, Jen has witten about Jørn Utzon’s Can Lis, which was built between 1970 - 73 in Mallorca, Spain. To read the full text, pick up the latest copy of Green magazine. ⠀
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Our thanks to for inviting us to contribute to this column.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Address

3 Blackfriars Street
Chippendale, NSW
2008

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