Superhouse by Karen McCartney // Book Review & Special Giveaway!

Cover of “Superhouse “book by Karen McCartney / Solo House by Pezo Von Ellrichshausen / Photography © Richard Powers.

I feel thrilled to have an opportunity to shine a little light on someone who has been an inspiring force in Australian design publishing for quite some time. Of course, I am talking about Karen McCartney who is a leading interior design and architecture expert, founding editor of Inside Out magazine, an author of multiple books, amongst other things. We are here today to celebrate her latest project, an absolutely incredible book tiled Superhouse: Architecture & Interiors Beyond the Everyday, in which Karen, in partnerships with internationally renowned photographer Richard Powers, presents an exceptional and surprising selection of architecturally designed houses from around the world.

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of my own a few weeks ago, and distinctly remember the feeling I was overcome with the minute I touched the cover. Reading Karen’s foreword about the process of bringing this book to life, I felt a sense of enlightenment, inspiration, joy but also relief knowing that books like this can still be made. I don’t know Karen all that well, but from whatever little that I do know, there is no denying this woman has a wealth of knowledge and real integrity in everything she does. She is the real deal, and her latest books mirrors her qualities. I realise it is completely inappropriate to say I feel proud of how good this book is, because I laterally had nothing to do with it – but I guess the “proud” bit is this feeling of triumph-at-large for this calibre of publishing. Not only is this book thoughtfully planned and approached with a very strong concept behind it, the combination of intelligent writing, beautiful imagery, in depth-interviews, clever layouts and the inclusion of architectural drawings (hallelujah!) are guaranteed to make your heart skip a beat.

Anyway, guys, what I’m really saying here is that this book is the one you need to get. Truly ruly. Superhouse is available nationally, retailing for $79.99 at all good bookstores, and signed copies are available online. Put it on your Christmas wish-list and buy it for every architect you know. Now, who wants a copy? We have two to giveaway – hooray!

For your chance to win one of the two copies of Superhouse, simply leave a comment below and make sure you’re subscribed to either our Daily Email and/ or Weekly Love Letter. Entries close at 11:59pm (AEST) on Friday 28th November, and two lucky winners will be drawn at random.

Read on for a little Q+A with Karen as she take us deep into the book.

Goulding Summerhouse by Scott Tallon Walker Architects / Photography © Richard Powers.

+ How did the idea for this book come about? And how long did it take from inception to completion?

The idea came about over lunch talking to the publisher at Penguin/Lantern and I said the words ‘superhouse’ when describing certain architectural projects. She seized this saying what a good name it was for a book. I agreed but subsequently became nervous as I worried it sounded too much about money and excess. My solution was to write a defintion of ‘super’ which could encompass everything from a container house to a British castle. The tag line ‘Architecture and interiors beyond the everyday’, sums up much of the approach to the content. That lunch was in June 2012 and publication date is October 2014 – but really there was a year actually working on the book itself.

+ What do you love the most about this project?

Once I had nailed my definition I really enjoyed the scope of the project. There was room to move and even shift in terms of type of domestic space. I started off wanting to source new buildings and then realised the potential of places that had been reworked or reinvigorated such as Vincent van Duysen’s VDCA House in Belguim, Bofill’s La Fabrica in Spain and Piero Lissoni’s Monza Loft in Italy. All these places then opened the door to Astley Castle which is a very exciting project which won the Stirling Prize in the UK.

La Fábrica by Ricardo Bofill / Photography © Richard Powers.

+ What was the most challenging aspect of bringing this book to life?

The most challenging aspect of the book was sourcing the right places. It is not hard to find houses that are good, but I wanted to find stories that ignited the imagination and showed different approaches to domestic space and the craft of building. Once I had found a great house I then had to approach the architect and then in turn they (sometimes) would approach the owners about photography. Some clients understandably don’t want their house shot for reasons of privacy. The other logistical difficultly was trying to dovetail with the plans of photographer Richard Powers so that we could make the most of his global travels. He is based in Antibes so Europe wasn’t so hard but there was a lot of planning around Brazil, North America and here in Australia.

Almere House by Benthem Crouwel Architekten / Photography © Richard Powers.

+ What did you learn during the making of this book? And would you have done anything differently?

I learnt a huge amount during this process. Through the Iconic Australian Houses books I learnt the right questions to ask architects so that I could draw out stories as well as facts. I went to as many of the houses as possible so as to experience them directly and they all evoked different feelings – in some cases quite emotional because they were beautiful or clever, awe-inspring or intimate. Each architect has such a different philosophy that plays out in their work and it was a privilege to understand their perspective.

I was really pleased with the level of projects I achieved for the book and the calibre of architects represented.

House at Toro Canyon by Barton Myers Associates / Photography © Richard Powers.

+ Any interesting/ funny/ quirky facts you could tell us about this project?

I worked very hard to get some work of Japanese architects into the book but the only time Richard and I could schedule to visit was in the middle of an annual holiday. It was a bit like saying ‘Can we come and shoot your house on Christmas day?’

A visit to the Solo House near Cretas in Spain was a torture to find. We could see it, but couldn’t find the way to access it, so we were buzzing around in out tiny hire car into increasing scrubby track as the house got further away. When we did arrive we had 197 steps to climb. Now that is a heart starter.

Portrait of Karen McCartney.

+ What do you hope for readers to take away from Superhouse?

We have worked very hard, not only on the choice of projects, but how they flow within the book. Evi Oetomo, the art director and I planned every image, within every chapter, to ensure the right dynamic of images and in turn, planned the way the reader moves chapter to chapter. I hope to create surprise as each chapter explores a different take on ‘super’. For example young French architects working in Morocco and reinvigorating local techniques, or a tiny house near Ballarat that is integrated with the surrounding forest, or a Brutalist masterpiece in Sao Paulo. There is a huge range of projects but I hope people will find something to interest them in each and every one.

For your chance to win one of the two copies of Superhouse, simply leave a comment below and make sure you’re subscribed to either our Daily Email and/ or Weekly Love Letter. Entries close at 11:59pm (AEST) on Friday 28th November, and two lucky winners will be drawn at random.

[Images courtesy of Karen McCartney. Photography © Richard Powers.]