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Architects: FMD Architects
- Area: 280 m²
- Year: 2012
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Photographs:Peter Bennetts
Text description provided by the architects. The site is a medium sized block in Brighton East, with an existing single storey brick art deco house set back from the street.
The brief was to renovate the existing bathroom and bedrooms, add an additional main bedroom suite, as well as create new living and alfresco areas with strong physical and visual connections to the outdoor spaces.
Views to and through the spaces were important considerations, so that the children could be monitored from a range of spaces both inside and out.
Adjacent to the site is a private tennis club which is clearly visible from the backyard, and the house is very exposed to this site. As the clients are active club members, views to the club from the interior and the west terrace offered unique design opportunities and allowed the site to visually extend to this area, as though the tennis courts were their own.
Living spaces are punctuated with a north facing courtyard, creating a private outdoor space that is shielded from the views from tennis club, as well all allowing the north sun to penetrate the various living spaces and kitchen.
Living areas have been consciously designed to remain flexible as either playrooms, studies, additional living areas or retreats. So as the dynamics of the family change over time, the spaces can adapt accordingly.
The relationship with the deco frontage was also considered. The linear detailing on the street façade chimney is a cue for the decorative timber patterning on the new extension. The use of timber also references its Bayside location, offering a dialogue between the suburban frontage and a more coastal design approach to the rear, referencing its dual context.
