Creating a home just right for us

This was a relatively small-scale project to renovate and reduce our humble ex-govie home in Hughes. 

The object of the exercise was to refresh and renew; to increase sustainability credentials, overall aesthetic appeal and  relationship to our garden. The backyard had previously been dominated by an ugly and temporary (for 25 years!) garage and carport structure which were demolished. A new sculpturally-interesting carport was designed for the front of the house freeing up space to permit the new key landscape design at the back to evolve.

As often the case with projects of this nature there is a fine line between deciding to move, renovate or summon the bulldozer. All options were considered by this Hughes client and following debate and the exploration of several diverse schematic approaches the current configuration was agreed upon.

The innovation in the project relates to a comprehensive revision of existing spaces; ie adapt rather than just add.  The bold but problematic decision to reclaim the garage as a bedroom wing was a key decision. The use of three or four subtle material and detailing choices to invigorate the aesthetics, threading together a previously disparate and tired street elevation allows the building to punctuate the cul-de-sac with a well-mannered and scale appropriate architectural form.

Following clear clues about improving the relationship of the key living spaces to garden and sensing an underutilised opportunity for greatly improved solar gain provided key stepping off points at the commencement of the design.

The clients are very happy with the outcome and not only see a design dividend in the exercise but hopefully recognise the value of architectural input in this very personal part of the market. The best measure of success is the comment that “it isn’t what we thought we were going to end up with but we like it.

The original house was the quintessential seventies expression of timber and face brick. In removing the small component of existing upper level the remaining solid brick provided a suitable platform on which to launch a bold and sustainable new upper storey.

The extensive upper level has exciting volumes contained under the floating and subtly curved roof. This top storey element has been configured to make the best of th   e excellent views and solar orientation available on the site.

The project has taken a rather plain middle-aged brunette and turned it into sharp and modern blonde. The bold and curvaceous form of the dwelling requires little additional colour input relying largely on the strong sculptural shapes and the texture of materials for its expression.

The new modern elements of steel and glass find an innovative expression that reflects their natural characteristics.  The resultant home is characterised by high-quality of workmanship and creative, appealing use of materials.

This was a thoughtful renovation and extension project, focused on creating a functional and family-friendly home. Key features include two enclosed car spaces, a potential garage addition, a new master bedroom (possibly upstairs), four bedrooms, and a flexible study space. The design incorporates a generous backyard with grass for kids, an 8–9m rectangular pool, and ample storage. A well-sized laundry at the south end, a front courtyard wall, and casual living zones complete this practical and comfortable update.

The main emphasis in this project was to carefully follow the details and content of the original building deign due to its heritage values. Whilst the shell of the new wing respects the existing building externally it introduces its own modern twist within allowing a contemporary expression. It allows much better relationships to the outside spaces than in the original.

In projects of any heritage nature aspects of innovation often run contrary to the core endeavours of respecting the existing building. The innovation in this project relates largely to a demonstration of its transformation to retain its external appearance in a consistent manner yet transform the inner spaces into elements that reflect a more contemporary aspiration.

The palette of materials used for this building stems not only from the clues presented by the original structure but also the introduction of more modern elements such as glass, steel and timber. These are used judiciously to achieve a layering affect to the renovation and add colour and texture to the scheme.

The use of larger areas of glass in the rear (the north side) enable a significantly improved inside outside relationship to be addressed in the design. The location and use of these elements avoids any conflict with the heritage character of the dwelling and produces a satisfyingly contemporary home.

The existing Dwelling presents two symmetrical pavilions facing Mugga Way and adopts a formal and geometric stance to the public domain.

The new parts of the house which replace a previously jumbled and eclectic extension strive to follow the theme of the very distinctive existing forms. The orientation of new elements also ensures a direct relationship to the private garden areas and promotes an excellent Northern solar orientation from the casual living spaces.

The break between the new in the old is emphasized by a dramatic and iconic glass floored bridge spanning over a lap pool.

The resultant design produces an eminently livable house whilst retaining the architectural integrity of the original.

This renovation extension exercise is located in the well-established suburban area of Deakin in the ACT.

The project fell fairly cleanly into two neat parts. The first part was to establish a new living room ‘pavilion’ thus making much better use of previously underutilised solar orientation potential and promoting a much more intimate relationship from inside and outside. The new pavilion also contains a main bedroom and ensuite; so effectively the addition is a one-bedroom house added on to a large and poorly sited product of the 70s.

The second aspect of the scheme was to reconfigure and modernise existing elements of the house in order to bring them up to date. This did not just involve the interiors which were comprehensively remodelled but entailed an exercise of removing the existing pitched roof and front balcony and to recast the whole look of the house from the street in a more modernist vein.

The house now serves as a well-functioning, sustainable contemporary home and is an exemplary exercise in the adaptive reuse of old building stock.

One way of looking at the role of an architect in devising a design solution is that it should elicits a response such as…” it’s not what I thought I would be getting …but I like it”. Hopefully the architect can exceed the client’s expectations rather than just meet them.

The original house was a simple linear and traditional arrangement of rooms on a long axis facing the street.  The house had no significant connection to its very attractive outside spaces

The main conceptual paradigm of the extension was to extend two long east-west axes to the rear to form elements containing the main bedroom and family/meals /kitchen area. The new orientation of the casual living area facilitates not only greater solar gain but also enables a private enclosed and North facing ‘external room’ to be sandwiched between the extended elements.

The brief in this situation was largely a functional one and it therefore was the role of the architect to respond and elevate the final built form to more than merely accommodation.  In this regard the architect believes that the clients brief was met …and their expectations exceeded.