Crescent House by Andrew Burns Architect

Photography by Brett Boardman

'Crescent House' is the first in an annual series of temporary pavilions to be installed at Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation in Paddington, Sydney. The aim of this 'Fugitive Structures' program is to engage a wide audience with architectural thought.

Two arcs are set within an apparently simple rectilinear form. The arcs bisect, creating a pair of infinitely sharp points and a threshold to the space beyond. This combination of fragility and robustness seeks to charge the conversations within the space with a particular quality.

The structure has an ambiguous presence; between architecture and art object. Through framing, it transforms an ordinary rose apple hedge into a landscape of beauty. The pavilion responds to elemental themes; darkness and light, the wonder offered by the night sky and the burnt quality of yaki-sugi (charred cedar) recalling the presence of bushfires on this continent.

The pavilion and has been initiated and supported by Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, BVN Donovan Hill, Andrew Cameron Family Foundation and the Nelson Meers Foundation.