KEY FEATURES
• Compact inner city renovation and addition that beings together old and new.
• Innovative planning and configuration within an existing building that creates a family home capable of providing a range of communal and private spaces for each family member.
• A natural and rich material palette that works to make new architectural elements synonymous with the existing building fabric.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This renovation and extension to a narrow single fronted terrace house was the beginning of a family’s unconventional move from suburbia to inner city Fitzroy. Our clients sought to create an ‘edgy’ yet comfortable urban home for themselves and their two grown up children.
Our challenge was to transform a unusually narrow terrace house into a functioning family home. The heritage fabric of the building had been heavily but poorly modified leaving very little intact to restore. We took this as an opportunity to entirely redefine the spaces within this building. A light filled communal living room became the heart of the home. With a sculpted plywood ceiling above a two-storey void, this space is bathed in an abundance of natural light. Existing brickwork was retained and re-used for the new portions of the house, with reverse brick veneer providing a beautiful visual feature internally as well as a thermally efficient wall construction to the new living space. Recycled timber beams were incorporated into the structure of the building in response to the client’s love of timber and connection to the timber industry.
The homes private spaces are ‘tucked’ into other parts of the house and existing roof, making use of all available space and allowing us to strengthen the sense of separation and privacy. At the upper floor, two separate bedroom zones are connected via a split staircase and an open walkway provides a bridge to a rooftop balcony. The lower level utilises skylights to draw light deep into the house, creating a serene ambience to the master bathroom and providing a dramatic view of the sky from the bath.
ARCHITECT’S STATEMENT
This project demonstrates that a small footprint is no barrier to creating a functional family home that is both unexpected and deceptively spacious. Our approach to this compact renovation was to preserve the character of the original building as much as possible and make sure that any new additions became synomous with the original fabric. The use of rich and natural materials and finishes are coupled with architectural detailing that seemlessly combines old and new whilst reflecting the character and sensibilities of our clients.
Material Used :
External walls
-Cement render
-Reclaimed brick (from site)
-Alucobond aluminium composite cladding
Roofing
-Lysaght Kilp Lok 700 metal deck roof
Internal walls
-Resene paints
-Stained plywood ceiling and wall panels
-Recycled timber beams
-Reclaimed brick walls (from site)
-Plasterboard walls & ceilings
Windows & doors
-Skyrange steel windows & doors
-Atlite & Velux skylights
-Designer Doorware hardware
Flooring
-Polished Concrete Flooring
-Recycled timber fl oor boards and stair treads
-Quantum Microfl oor fi nish
-Prestige Carpets pure wool carpet
-Porcelain tile fl ooring
Lighting & Electrical
-Masson for Light
-ISM Objects feature lights
-Clipsal electrical switches
Kitchen
-2 pack polyeurethane joinery paint fi nish
-Solid timber joinery
-Consentino Dekton ultra compact surface benchtops
-Abey Sinks
-Astra Walker Tapware
-Qasair Rangehood
-Hafele fi ttings
Bathrooms
-Porcelain fl ooring and wall tiles
-Consentino Dekton ultra compact surface benchtops
-Apaiser freestanding stone bath
-Astra Walker tapware & fi ttings
-Caroma sanitaryware
-Veitch shower grate
-Hydrotherm heater towel rail
Laundry
-Polytec Melamine joinery fronts and benchtop
-Ceramic wall tiles
-Abey laundry trough
-Astra Walker tapware
Window Furnishings
-Helioscreen internal and external blinds & awning
-Shadefactor Warema external venetian blinds
