44, West Common Way

This is a private house built between 1961 and 1963 by Povl Ahm, based on a design by Jorn Utzon. It was extended between 1972 and 1974 by Ulrick Plesner in association with Christopher Beaver Associates. The house is constructed of Aylesbury buff brick walls with reinforced concrete trusses supporting precast, smooth-surfaced concrete beams. The roof has a shallow pitch with a copper edge. It is arranged in an L-shaped plan with a later extension forming a children's wing that separates the house from the road.

The main range comprises a series of semi-open spaces on multiple levels. A carport, integrated into the house, is emphasized by the visible concrete beams and leads directly to the front door. Windows have teak mullions. The garden elevation is largely glazed, with irregularly positioned mullions and full-height glazing running beneath a continuous concrete beam, the roof having a coved copper edge. A terrace features Swedish Hogamass white quarry tiles laid across varying levels. The rear garden elevation displays projecting concrete beams and an exposed truss of boardmarked concrete supporting glazing beneath. The 1972-4 extension presents a blank façade to the road, with windows incorporated into the brickwork facing the garden; a sloped clerestory backs onto the rear wall.

The internal spaces showcase exposed concrete beams running lengthways, supported by two intermediate concrete trusses. Swedish Hogamass white quarry tiles are used throughout the interior, including the steps leading to the main living space and further steps leading to a dining area and adjacent kitchen and bedrooms. A brick chimneybreast incorporates a portion of the concrete truss, housing a simple fireplace opening. Joinery details adhere to standard designs originating from Utzon’s office, including a sideboard/hatch unit between the kitchen and dining area.

The house was originally designed for Povl Ahm, a Danish partner of Ove Arup who was collaborating with Jorn Utzon on the Sydney Opera House. Utzon provided a concept design that was followed in the finished house, albeit with modifications to the structural system, notably the addition of an intermediate truss beneath the fireplace to reduce the depth of the concrete roof beams. Joinery, kitchen fittings, and other details echo those found in houses at Fredensborg, Denmark, which Utzon was also designing at the time. The extension is a self-contained children's/guest suite, separate from the main house.