This is a house for a family. They have stuff. They have swimming lessons, piano, tennis, soccer. Mum and Dad both work. There’s a lot going on. The demands on this house are high.
We strongly advocate to our clients that a key principle of sustainable design is size. A bigger house uses more resources to build but also to light, to heat, to clean and to maintain. So even on this site where space is available we have designed for compact and efficient living. This means every space has to work hard, be flexible and versatile and get it’s feeling of spaciousness from visual tricks, rather than actual bulk space.
The old interwar period house was renovated and has become three bedrooms, a home office and 2 bathrooms. The first floor addition contains everything bedrooms and study spaces for the children. A new entry foyer (the bridge) connects the old and the new, and provides ample space for the dumping of school bags, tennis rackets etc.
The new spaces have a highly controlled complexity. All spaces are interconnected but it’s not ‘open plan’ in the sense of many rear additions. Space is highly articulated and the relationships between them are sophisticated and specific.
In this part of Sydney land value is high and many houses in the area have become bloated. We were concerned from the start that the choices of the neighbours never detrimentally affected the lives of our clients, and so designed a house which grasped it’s north light from almost the centre of the site, rather than the northern boundary. On the exterior a high north facing clerestory style window appears continuous but actually imparts it’s light into four different spaces. Hot air is also vented out these windows from all levels of the addition.
This house is an exemplary example of what should be normal. It is appropriate. That’s all.
Sustainability initiatives All of our projects are ‘sustainable’ architecture. Every project is designed with the following principles as integral to the process and the result.
Passive; the majority of issues to do with energy use, amenity and comfort in houses, especially in Sydney can be solved by good design. We always design out the need for mechanical systems. We insulate, ventilate and control the sun for heat and light.
Size; keep it small. Smaller buildings use less resources in construction and in the ongoing life of the building.
Adaptive; most buildings, where structurally sound can be adapted to new purposes, so we always look to retain as much existing building as we can.
Materials; keep it simple and recyclable. Use renewable timber instead of steel and avoid all kinds of composite materials where possible. Only use finishes where absolutely necessary for the longevity of the material. Choose materials for their ability to weather well and be stable in the long term.
