Conceptually this project both reconciles and celebrates the found condition of the cottage/site/street/suburb. It acts at multiple scales within the constraints of a minimal footprint and rear siting. At the scale of the suburb it speaks to the eclectic and fun nature of the ‘West End’ that the clients are ontologically living within - simultaneously quirky, humble, bold, green (and on the left side of the house!). The dialogue with the street is one of engagement not dominance - the life of the house is visible through large street facing windows.
The towers open undercroft enables views past the shaded play space to the rear yard. At the scale of the house the tower piece contains multiple realms within the one form. At ground level a moody rich garden room opens up to a lushly planted rear yard. A distinct space that celebrates difference to the original cottage. At the main house level the tower shapes a high ceilinged living volume that interlocks with the cottage and has a dialogue with the its materiality - vj-lining to a datum then square set plasterboard to the vaulting walls and ceiling above. So within the singular form of the tower a vertical journey is created from shadow/minimal enclosure to light filled room and sky window.
Semantically the tower also talks of the ‘back-to-front’ planning with the ‘public’ internal and external rooms at the rear and the private bedroom spaces of the original cottage at the front. This also dovetails with the generous path to the double height garden court it frames, which in itself has a ‘public’ theatrical feel to it - a place for parties, weddings and fire circles - spilling to the street. Further the engagement with the street works supports the planned ability for the downstairs rooms to be partitioned off as a self-contained flat accessed from under the tower. In this scenario the undercroft becomes the flats external space. Multiple living spaces in urban form.
The compact form also has the benefit of minimising new built fabric and maximising space for the garden setting. The strategy for the garden structures are to again achieve multiple outcomes through an economy of means. Privacy from the overlooking house behind, a place for gathering, a place for sitting, access to northern winter light, and the required overland flow path through the back yard.
The minimal new footprint also means reduced cost. The value for money that the additions and renovations achieved was significant. This was assisted by accepting that the majority of the built in under area was prosaic and simple yet hung of one special room. Additionally, changes to the existing main house level were kept to a minimum.
The metal and fiber cement cladding acts as a robust, low maintenance materials which contrast sensitively from the white traditional weatherboards. Whilst the dark stained undercroft ply and timber create a cool space that speaks to the tropics.
Team:
Engineer – Structure
Interior Stylist - Caro Toledo
Landscape Designer – Steven Clegg
Builder – JSC Prestige Homes
Material Used:
1. Facade cladding: James Hardie Hardiflex Cladding Scyon Linea Cladding
2. Lysaght Longline Cladding
3. Doors: Custom sliding door with Ampelite Fibre Glass
4. Windows: Velux fixed skylight, Breezeway Altair Louvres
5. Roofing: Lysaght Custom orb roofing
6. Interior lighting: Authentic Lighting – Braided cloth flex and LED bulb, Havit Up/Down Pillar Light v
7. Interior furniture: Laminex Kitchen White board and colourboard
8. Paint: Dulux – Quarter Lexicon Flat, Natural White, Xena Low Sheen
