Wahroonga Project

Existing house. Alteration and additions, completed stage one, mid 2011.

A single storey, 1960s brick and tile house located on a large sloping site in a leafy northern Sydney suburb. The existing internal access was via a staggered hallway leading to a combined dining and living area. Garaging and store rooms were located beyond affording limited views and access to the rear yard.

The brief was to re position the garage and store areas, provide interior renovations and a new living room with access to the rear yard. The design involved the renovation of an existing kitchen and associated laundry spaces, re locating them to either side of a new central axis. This axis connects the existing house to the back yard and borrowed bushland setting beyond.

The addition of a central courtyard and new separate living pavilion enable the rear of the existing house to be used as a single large dining area, with these spaces able to open up via the use of bi folding doors. The rear yard and district views then became available to all living areas back to the point of arrival as a sequence of framed indoor and outdoor spaces.

As the living pavilion was detached from the existing building it provided an economical way to increase living space by minimising structural modifications.