Instagram - DFJ Architects, Byron Bay

@thelocalproject’s feature of Natural Lane House

@thelocalproject’s feature of Natural Lane House is up... link in bio!

Thanks @bronwynmarshall for the lovely words.

#dfjarchitects #byronbayarchitects #naturallanehouse #thelocalproject #bronwynmarshall #christopherfrederickjones

We’re changing things up a bit here at DFJHQ and

We’re changing things up a bit here at DFJHQ and trialing a four-day working week for the next couple of months!

The office will still be open Monday to Friday, but we now have two teams - one out of the office on Mondays and the other on Fridays.

It means slightly longer work days on the days we’re here, but will hopefully allow for better work-life balance.

Anyone else out there made the jump?

We’re beyond thrilled to have had Coolamon House

We’re beyond thrilled to have had Coolamon House make the cover of this month’s @housesmagazine! Many thanks to @_chloe.naughton_ @gemmasavio_ @katelinbutler and @christopherfrederickjones! What an honour.

Visit our story to see the full feature.

#dfjarchitects #byronbay #byronbayarchitecture #australianarchitecture #housesmagazine #chloenaughton #christopherfrederickjones #coolamonhouse #residentialarchitecture

It was an honour to have been involved in the rece

It was an honour to have been involved in the recently completed $6M upgrade of @summerland_farm - an agri-tourism attraction in nearby Alstonville that also happens to be one of Australia’s most successful disability enterprises.

We collaborated with landscape architect whizzes @plummerandsmith on the masterplan, which required an existing water play park to be enhanced and incorporated into a new adventure playground, dotted with architectural elements and linked to a new Retail Hub. Their characteristically outstanding landscape design makes for an epic kids’ wonderland, complete with extensive nature-play landscaping featuring edible plantings, a sensory garden and @projectfortawesome climbing cubby.

Overlooking all of this outdoor fun sits the Retail Hub, consisting of a repurposed 200sqm shed with new timber external elements grafted off two sides. Housing ticketing facilities, a cafe/kiosk, gift shop, produce shop, nursery, back-of-house facilities and toilets, a large entry verandah projects out from the eastern edge to channel visitors past the ticket booth and into the main space. The eave of the shed’s northern wall now forms part of the covered rectangular walkway skirting an adjacent landscaped courtyard, where people can stretch out on the grass under the eventual shade of the espalier plane trees, relax at the cafe’s outdoor benches, visit the nursery, or simply enjoy a loop to admire the views.

Images Natalie McComas
@natmccomas

Builder: Woollam Constructions

Landscape Construction: Greenwood Landscape Management
@greenwoodlandscape

Engineering: Westera Partners
@westera_partners
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#dfjarchitects #byronbayarchitects #summerlandfarm #alstonville #agritourism #australianarchitecture #plummerandsmith #landscapearchitecture #adventureplayground #natureplay #woollamconstructions #greenwoodlandscape #buildingbetterregions #nataliemccomas

Finding ourselves included in Nicole England’s s

Finding ourselves included in Nicole England’s second volume of her wonderful Resident Dog series made for an excellent present this Christmas! What an honour to be published alongside Robin Boyd, John Lautner and Studio KO, to name just a few.

Visit our story to see Ranger showing Nicole around The Range - our collaborative project with owner and interior designer extraordinaire, Emma Lane. Or better still, buy this book if architecture and dogs are two of your most favourite things!

#dfjarchitects #residentdog #therangebyronbay #nicoleengland

Happy New Year from the DFJ team!

Happy New Year from the DFJ team!

We finished up for the year on Friday, and after o

We finished up for the year on Friday, and after one like 2020, some serious spoiling was in order for the DFJ team! First stop, a nice decompressing couple of hours at the cinema for a private screening of David Byrne & Spike Lee’s brilliant American Utopia. Then to The Pass to join Delta Kay for a guided Aboriginal tour, where we got to experience our familiar landscape anew, hear the Dreamtime stories of the Bundjalung Nation, and gather and sample the rainbow of local bushfoods we’ve obliviously passed by so many times. We tried our hand at grass weaving and learning to count in the local Arakwal dialect, with a spot of traditional dancing thrown in too. Thank you Delta - what an amazing experience. We can highly recommend @explore_byronbay’s tours to both locals and visitors alike. Then it was off to Rae’s for dinner at the Cellar Bar, with a few extra beverages on the way home at the Duck’s newest venture, Oma. (A Saturday recovery Argentine Asado, hosted by our very own Gaucha, Lucila, went down a treat too - thanks Lucila!)

As well as being an excuse for a whole lot of fun, the day provided an important opportunity to acknowledge the immense challenges surmounted by this incredible group of people these past 12 months - L-R; Amber, John, James, Lucila, Anastasia, Dan and Fraser. Not only did they continue to deliver projects without a hitch while working remotely, they handled everything with aplomb and humour, supporting each other every step of the way.

In amongst this complicated year we also marked the significant milestone of ten years in business! It is an achievement we are immensely proud of, and one that has only been possible due to the collective talent and hard work of every DFJ team member both past and present. And some pretty special clients too, of course.

We have a big 2021 programmed in, and look forward to sharing some exciting new projects with you when we return to the office on Monday January 11 - an unprecedented three week break for us this festive season.

So thank you to the team, thank you to our clients and thank you to this beautiful corner of the world we are so lucky to call home - always, but now more so than ever.

Live/Work settling in nicely.

Live/Work settling in nicely.

Site visit side visits

Site visit side visits

After a big few years of primarily public and comm

After a big few years of primarily public and commercial work, it was an honour to have three of our projects win across three housing categories at the @architecturensw Country Division Awards on Friday night - as well as a sustainability award for Easy Street!

It was an especially strong line up this year, and these accolades are testament to the hard work, talent and dedication of this phenomenal group of young architects, who navigated every challenge 2020 threw at them with grace and aplomb.

With thanks to the @institute_architects_aus, this year’s jury, and our brilliant and brave clients.

L-R Amber, Lucila, John, Dan, Dom, Fraser (MIA James)
📷 Lan

Have you cast your vote in the AIA NSW Country Div

Have you cast your vote in the AIA NSW Country Division People’s Choice Award yet? Voting closes 5pm tomorrow, Wed 28th Oct!

We have three projects entered, and you get three votes… perfect!

Results announced 6th Nov.

Link in bio…

Tiny house, big volume. @mulimuli.house @dtabuil

Tiny house, big volume.

@mulimuli.house
@dtabuilding

📷 Daniel Mann
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#dfjarchitects #byronbay #mulimulihouse #byronbayarchitect #australianarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #sustainablearchitecture #tinyhouse

Voting for the People’s Choice Award kicks off t

Voting for the People’s Choice Award kicks off today in the @architecturensw #NSWCountryDivisionAwards!

We have three projects entered in four categories this year;

NEAL & SHIRLEY’S
Alts&Adds / Heritage

COOLAMON HOUSE
New Houses

EASY STREET
Multi-Res

Click the link in our bio to check out the tough competition we’re up against… and cast your votes while you’re there!

Best of luck to all our fellow entrants!

#dfjarchitects #nealandshirleys #coolamonhouse #easystreet

@christopherfrederickjones wielded his magic out a

@christopherfrederickjones wielded his magic out at Coolamon House earlier this week, and we are thrilled with the results.

Special mention to Daniel Mann and Amber Garde for an outstanding job.

Builder: Lyle Le Sueur
Foreman: Mike Faulks
Landscape: Grant Boyle @fig_landscapes
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#dfjarchitects #byronbay #coolamonhouse #byronbayarchitect #australianarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #byronhinterland #cedarcreekconstructions #figlandscapes

Our state-of-the-art ophthalmology clinic for MBL

Our state-of-the-art ophthalmology clinic for MBL Eye Surgeons is set to begin construction shortly with local builders @bennettconstructions at the helm.

Design team: Dom, Daniel Mann, John Eden & Amber Garde

Lumion render by John Eden & Amber Garde
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#dfjarchitects #byronbayarchitect #lismorensw #hunterstreetclinics #australianarchitecture #commercialarchitecture #medicalarchitecture #lumion #render

“It is a house of easy grace, made of beautiful

“It is a house of easy grace, made of beautiful materials which echo the place and the house's history. And it still has the element of surprise which we treasured.” Neal and Shirley

Images @christopherfrederickjones
Builder @dtabuilding
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#dfjarchitects #byronbay #byronbayarchitect #nealandshirleys #pottsville #australianarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #altsandadds #midcentury #midcenturymodern

Sitting at the back of the dune system at Pottsvil

Sitting at the back of the dune system at Pottsville overlooking the beach and river mouth, this 1957 residence was a ‘higgledy-piggledy house, full of shade and light’, according to clients Neal & Shirley.

Having lived in the property for 15 years (but purchased as a holiday house in the eighties), they came to us in 2017 looking to make it more amenable to visiting family - without creating an oversized house to ‘bounce around in’ the rest of the time.

We were all in agreeance that its midcentury bones demanded preservation, albeit with the exception of an old garage and some small store rooms which were demolished. Tucked into this newly vacant space within the original building envelope, we were able to insert a contemporary two-storey guest wing atop a new garage and workshop, consisting of three bedrooms, one bathroom and a lift. A small painting studio was added to the garden for Shirley.

The space within the beachfront pavilion was preserved, rebuilt and rearranged to become an efficient two-person residence, and celebrates the scale, materiality and modesty of the original house. Small external windows and internal linear breezeways were inserted to illuminate the beautiful ceiling, and the old fernery that ran across the front was formalised with a new steel screen to provide western shade.

The mammoth original chimney wall was re-pointed and waterproofed, and features river stones collected from the beach at nearby Hastings Point. Apparently their perfect size and smoothness saw locals collect them by the ute-load at the time, making them a common feature of many gardens of the area.

Images @christopherfrederickjones
Builder @dtabuilding
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#dfjarchitects #byronbay #byronbayarchitect #nealandshirleys #pottsville #australianarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #altsandadds #midcentury #midcenturymodern

Muli Muli House is set to break ground in June wit

Muli Muli House is set to break ground in June with @dtabuilding at the helm for us again.

Its direct beach access will see this compact courtyard house weather some pretty harsh conditions, which dictated a simple robust palette of hardwood, concrete and glass.

#dfjarchitects #byronbayarchitect #byronbayarchitecture #residentialarchitecture #courtyardhouse #coastalarchitecture #australianarchitecture #mulimulihouse

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