Gladesville Alt’s & Add’s

  • Type: Residential
  • Completed: Est 2020
  • Size: 750m²

This house is situated on the fringes of a heritage conservation area within Hunters Hills Local government area. The owner had previously lodged an application to do a knockdown / rebuild prior to approaching Five Canons which was quickly refused by council. When the owners came to us, it was evident that they had been through a rough time with the experience of the previous refused proposal and so it was important for us to be realistic with the owners from the onset.

Once we sat and interviewed owners about their expectations, we produced a detailed brief outlining what we believed would constitute a feasible outcome. At this stage, it was important to be quietly optimistic without making any unrealistic promises. The key outcome from a design point of view and from our observations of the immediate context was that any proposal would need to be sympathetic to the conservation area and the streestscape.

When the brief was final, we set about designing an upper floor extension to accommodate the owners growing family. Additional bedrooms and a small living space was added to the upper floor while the lower floor removed the existing bedrooms to make way for more open living quarters. The rear portion of the lower level was designed to open up to the rear landscape area and create a strong connection to a proposed turfed area,  pool and outdoor entertainment cabana beyond.

Externally, the alterations and the first floor addition are modeled on the “inter-war cottage” period styling which is evident in the streetscape and typical of some housing in the immediate locale. The existing brickwork has been maintained and is restored while typical timber ornamentation evident with this style of house is re-introduced so that the structure can once again fit in its context. The upper floor extension is set back from the lower floor and begins within a attic roof section to reduce bulk with materials that play on time period being emulated.