Did you have a cubby house growing up – maybe one with a platform wedged in between tree branches; a neat mini house complete with front door, or one with two sash hung windows and a spider in the corner? Or do your kids have the two storey variety complete with staircase and sandpit underneath? Last week at the 2011 Melbourne International Garden and Flower Show, the Master Builders Association of Victoria presented some very savvy and creative designs from leading architects to raise money for Kids Undercover who support homeless and at risk children.
The Milkbar by Good Constructions & Atkinson Pintifex, with Maddison Architects
Designed from brightly coloured iconic Australian milk crates, The Milkbar was designed to be funky, reusable and recyclable. And isn’t it fitting this fantastic cubby is likely to be the smallest ever architectural home created by Peter Maddison of Grand Designs Australia?.
Open House by Nixon Tulloch Fortey
If you think the Open House looks familiar, cast your mind back to the days when you sat down on the floor for a long game of Monopoly…with a few added features. Walls fold down to become decks, draw bridges or a shop window!
The Glow House by Harris HMC, designed by Antarctica
True to its name The Glow House glows at night and provide a visual treat during the day. Striped polycarbonate sheeting floods the cubby with natural light during the day, and lift up viewing hatches provide natural ventilation.
The Funky Factory by Vaughn Constructions
The Funky Factory won the People’s Choice award on the weekend. Loading tunnels, delivery shoots, firemans poles and swings clearly made this the kids ultimate play haven. Although I must admit the Open House and the Glow House would make a perfect backyard home office for me.
There were more cubby houses on show, but unfortunately we did not get photos of all of them – particularly The Malibu constructed from wheat and rice straw panels. So pop on over to the Cubby House Challenge website for a full run down, and keep an eye out for next year’s cubby house challenge!
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