The Urban Developer: Clifftop House Highlights Finesse of Concrete

It takes a unique site to produce a unique piece of architecture. So says Brisbane architect Joe Adsett, whose Clifftop House at Teneriffe is nothing if not a one-off.

When presented with a narrow band of clifftop overlooking the Brisbane River, Adsett found the architectural solution to be self-evident.

The result is a stunning, three-level concrete-framed home that sits lightly atop the cliff, affording magnificent views to the river and beyond.

Adsett and the client wanted to do something dramatically different to the old house, with the overarching brief being to get as much volume—and views—as possible out of the long, narrow strip.

Constrained by height restrictions, they turned to concrete to deliver the solution.

“Concrete allowed us to get maximum spans and keep the floor depths to a minimum so we could achieve three levels of living space,” Adsett said.

The spanning and strength qualities of concrete also allowed for a dramatic cantilever effect where the suspended floors come to a sharp, exaggerated point at the north-east corner of the site.

“The slab itself is impossibly thin and was only achieved by working collaboratively with 3D software.”

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