Even though the existing house was in extremely poor condition, it had been built by the client’s grandfather and therefore they had a sentimental attachment to it and wanted to preserve some aspects of it. The clients had already obtained a DA approval by previous designer but were not quite happy with the result as the designer had not pushed Council for the results they wanted.

When we looked at it, we were confident that we could come up with a design that would transform the house as well as maximise the use of the site. We were prepared to spend the time and effort in Council to negotiate a result that the clients would love.

We took advantage of the fact that the existing house had a very small setback on the eastern side to maximise the space within the house. In order to integrate the first floor addition to the existing building, we came up with the idea of using a large arc that joined the roof to the wall. This arc would not only create a strong visual presence for the building, it would also translate into the actual spaces inside the building as well as the carport.

We convinced Council to allow us to carry the eastern wall/roof all the way to the front boundary which was highly unusual. This allowed us to create a two storey high carport for the client’s caravan, as well as create a strong 3 dimensionality to the front façade of the building.

We designed a large open plan Living/Dining/Kitchen space on the Ground Floor which the family uses as their main space with the main aspect out towards the ocean views. We used this space to create a strong visual connection from the front to the back of the house, as a result, you can look through the building from the front yard and see through to the ocean views beyond.

The existing backyard was extremely small and steep. We terraced the backyard into a number of different flat levels which allowed us to provide a swimming pool area, landscaping as well as a small open space for the kids to play.