This project is the extension and reworking of an early Twentieth Century Arts and Crafts bungalow. The existing house had been poorly renovated in the 1980s and suffered from a lack of connection to the north facing rear yard and awkwardly configured children’s bedrooms within an attic conversion. The client’s brief was to open the house to the rear yard, provide 3 new children’s bedrooms on an upper level, together with new bathrooms, laundry and wardrobes and to rework the rooms of the original house to provide a library / music room and TV room. A small swimming pool and new carport were also required in the rear yard.
The strategy adopted was to demolish the 1980s addition at the rear, together with the majority of the attic conversion, then to construct a new 2 level structure to house the main living / dining / kitchen space on the lower level and 3 identical children’s bedrooms on the upper level, incorporating a new stair connecting the two levels within this new structure. A large dormer window added to the roof space in the 1980s renovation has been split along its ridge line to create 2 children’s bathrooms, with their mirrored walls reflecting and making ambiguous the geometry of these spaces.
Conceptually the old and new are not physically or visually distinct from each other but simply butt up to each other, with the new rear wing incorporating the materials of the original house but with contemporary form and detailing. The lower level, while extensively glazed on 2 sides, adopts the rough cast rendered brick walls of the original along the western facade, while utilising a lightweight framed upper level clad in white painted cedar shingles, that were used to clad the large gables of the original roof. Internally the American White Oak flooring and white painted walls flow through the entire lower level, while externally coloured concrete slabs surround the new extension and are matched to the colour of the existing Haddonstone paving at the front of the house. These concrete slabs fold up to form a series of retaining walls to the existing garden beds.
Extensive glazing provides high levels of natural lighting to the interior, including a large skylight over the new stair. All openings are protected from summer sun by operable aluminium louvres or overhanging awning on the lower level. Adjustable glass louvres and large sliding glass doors allow for cross ventilation and easy access to the outdoor spaces. All lighting is LED and there is a water storage tank below the original house for irrigation and topping up of the pool.
The original house has been extensively renovated, reinstating much of its external detailing, while the interior has been modified to strip much of what had been added over the years, while retaining the original plan form and proportions.
Material Used :
01. AWS - aluminum sliding doors and windows
02. JWI - R80 - adjustable aluminium louvres
03. Marc Newson for Caroma - hand basins, toilet suites and bathroom taps
04. Britton Timber - American White Oak timber flooring
05. External Cladding - Western Red Cedar shingles - with painted finish
06. CASF - Corian - kitchen and laundry bench tops
07. Bathroom and laundry flooring - Pietra Serena stone slabs
08. Franke - kitchen sinks
09. Miele - kitchen appliances
10. A2f - Tartana - stainless steel kitchen mixer tap
11. Nimbus - LED downlight
12. Dulux - Vivid White - interior and exterior paint
