Homes

Aaron Peters and Rebecca Pouwer

We recently featured a beautiful Brisbane family home, designed by much respected Brisbane architecture office Vokes and Peters.

TODAY, we meet with architect Aaron Peters again, as he  invites us into the apartment he shares with his partner Rebecca Pouwer and young son Arthur in Brisbane’s iconic mid century apartment block, Torbreck.

Written
by
Lucy Feagins
Supported by Dulux

The home of Aaron Peters and Rebecca Pouwer in Brisbane’s iconic Torbreck apartment building. Above – living room. This space is divided from the dining room by a curtain and raised timber floor, making it a versatile space, currently used as a nursery for Aaron and Rebecca’s young son Arthur. Artworks by Freda Davies and Rory Toomey. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Living room / nursery. Parker Sofa, Ivy Muse pot plant stand, and custom made timber shelf. ‘The exposed timber framing is inspired by the chevron motif commonly found in Mid Century modernism,’ says Aaron. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Living room / nursery details. Ubabub cot and Parker furniture couch. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Living room details. Eames stand, Haws watering can from Mr Kitly. ‘The ‘Ewan and Charlie’ personal library was design by Stuart Vokes and Aaron as part of a small furniture range developed by their firm.  Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Artworks by Freda Davies on display in the living room. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Kitchen details. Items on display on the shelf and by local Brisbane duo Everingham and Watson. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Kitchen details. Rebecca and Aaron had to rebuild and renovate most of the apartment, including the kitchen. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files

Dining area. Cushions by Ferm Living and Marimekko, day bed built by Aaron, daybed cushion fabric by Mokum, and stools and A330 lamp by Artek. ‘Birdsmouth’ table by Vokes and Peters. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Dining area. Cushions by Ferm Living and Marimekko, day bed built by Aaron, daybed cushion fabric by Mokum, and stools and A330 lamp by Artek. ‘Birdsmouth’ table by Vokes and Peters. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Bedroom with Juliet balcony. Eames rocker, Mr Kitly pot plant stands, Marimekko blanket, Artek stool and light. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Bedroom. Marimekko blanket, Artek stool and light and custom timber bookshelf. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

Entrance to the tower block at Torbreck. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files

The view from Torbreck. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files

The view from Torbreck. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files

Exterior facade of apartment building. Torbreck is composed of two buildings – the Garden Block (pictured) faces north across a secluded garden towards the city skyline. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files.

The facade of Torbreck. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files

Writer
Lucy Feagins
17th of November 2015

Torbreck is an iconic building in Brisbane. Well known and much loved by local design aficionados, this impressive multi-storey apartment building was designed by Brisbane architects AH Job and RP Froud, and built between 1958 – 1960.

Young Brisbane architect Aaron Peters of Vokes and Peters moved into his apartment here with partner Rebecca Pouwer in 2013. ‘We’d seen Torbreck on the hill for so many years, and learnt about it over time’ Aaron says. Though they had long been fans of the building, the apartment itself was in what Aaron describes as ‘a pretty deplorable state’ when they first took possession. ‘Much of the existing fabric had been removed or damaged beyond repair’ he recalls. ‘The previous tenant had painted murals over the kitchen, that included supergluing plastic dinosaurs to the cabinets and painting pink love hearts on the floor, it was a joy to demolish!’

Aaron and Rebecca’s intention from the outset was to renovate the unit in a way that would celebrate the history of the building, drawing inspiration from the mid-century modernist tradition. They were keen, however, to avoid simply replicating the original fit-out. ’Almost everything needed to be re-made, the only original element that could be kept were the floor tiles in the bathroom and laundry’ Aaron recalls. Perhaps the most drastic alteration was raising the floor of the kitchen and dining rooms, and creating a partial dividing wall to the living room. This helped disguise prominent structural beams in the ceiling, evoked the ‘sunken living room’ commonly seen in the mid century era, and significantly, it also allowed the installation of a discreet curtain to convert this living room into a functional second bedroom when baby Arthur arrived!

Aaron and Rebecca employed two different builders to do the bulk of the work here over a two year period, but also did a lot of things themselves, including constructing the timber shelves and day bed. ‘Our apartment is a series of little experiments, and we enjoy each for different reasons, but I have to say that the day bed was a particular milestone’ Aaron says. ‘Rebecca later admitted that she was budgeting to have to pull it out and rebuild it because she assumed I’d screw it up!’ he adds!

What really defines this re-worked apartment, aside from the great sense of respect for the era of the building, is a feeling of simplicity and restraint.  At its heart, this is pared back and very utilitarian home. There isn’t an inch to spare, and yet it’s perfectly proportioned for this young family – everything has a place and a function.

‘I think we’re very pleased that the new renovation seems to belong in the building’ Aaron explains, when asked what he loves most about his apartment. In fact, when the unit was included in the recent Brisbane Open House event, one of the architects who had worked for Job and Froud came through on a tour. ‘He told me that he thought the work was very sensitively handled, which was the best endorsement we could hope for’ Aaron says!

Aaron, Rebecca and their son Arthur at the front entrance of their building. Photo – Mindi Cooke. Production – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files

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