jcHQ creates intelligent buildings and subtle interiors with a focus on sustainable design principles. Director Julia Cox’s background in fashion and textiles and lifelong work in building and design, drives the studio’s deep passion for materiality, texture, and the craft of making. The studio uses a practical approach to create low-maintenance, flexible, and timelessly elegant spaces that endure.

About the Project

Chestnut House sits quietly on a tight inner Melbourne block of 125m2. In 2006 the site was purchased for an experiment - to design and owner build a home with refined architectural design, raw concrete insulated precast panel construction, sustainable systems and materials in an urban setting. To prioritise sustainability as far as possible throughout the process was a relatively new concept at the time, especially for architectural builds.  Luxury design was excessive, fashionable and ultimately disposable. Consideration for the planet without losing sight of the human need for spatial drama, sensory richness and beauty was needed. "If you build it, they will come" said Kevin Costner.