East West House

The existing Victorian detailing was stripped back to highlight the elegant fireplace arches, Baltic pine flooring and timber mouldings. Freestanding (not built-in) bespoke joinery neatly fits into the existing fireplace recesses to clearly define the old and new.

The east-west site orientation cleverly turns an apparent design detriment into a major design feature. The long rear extension abuts the south boundary to achieve a delightful rear northern orientation, much longer than possible from a north-south site of similar size.

The new structure is visually separated from the heritage building by a glass link, with hidden utility spaces behind. A series of glazed connections, incorporating a large sliding glass door, a fixed door, a picture window and a frameless section, provide each space with its own special interaction with the immediately adjacent garden.

To reduce its mass, the upper storey is constructed as a timber-framed setback pop-up, out of the triangular masonry form. The bedroom receives filtered northern and western light through batten shutters, which control the heat in warmer months.

Externally, the addition is constructed out of recycled pressed red bricks with rough natural sand and cement render. This sits comfortably with the aged bluestone and other materials of the original early Victorian house [4].

Internally, the new living, dining and kitchen areas are associated with the consistent use of solid oak flooring, walls, and joinery. The tight oak grain brings natural warmth to the space. The fine detailing of the junctions, joinery doors, recesses and fittings provoke an appreciation of the considered way in which the space has been crafted. Further, the changing volumes, lighting and varied glazed connections to the garden differentiate the various functional spaces.