-
Architects: H2o architects
- Area: 140 m²
- Year: 2018
-
Photographs:Trevor Mein
-
Manufacturers: Cosentino, Bluescope, Classic Ceramics, Plyco
Text description provided by the architects. The Cressy Road house is an addition to an existing heritage bluestone farmhouse designed for a mature couple upgrading the existing facilities. Since the owners acquired the property 15 years ago, the farm has undergone a process of adaptive change to the client’s lifestyles concluding with this contemporary piece of architecture.
The original dwelling, typical of Victorian era Homesteads, was erected around 1890 featuring local bluestone walls and timber filigree-decorated verandas with a dominant Zincalume roof. The design of the new house is driven by the site conditions and a desire to achieve a sensitive yet abstracted dialogue between old and new. The simple form of the extension extrudes the plan form of the old house and a striking visual contrast, yet reinforcing materiality is established – most visible from the main road.
For the owners, practicality, comfort and low maintenance were the key principles to the design brief along with a desire to minimize the number of materials used to achieve high quality zero maintenance finishes, whilst fitting within a tight budget. A single external material – Zincalume ribbed cladding, echoes the roof of the old house and is used to clad the entire form of walls, hipped roof and skylight. Polished concrete flooring is used throughout the new wing as a durable, versatile and cost-effective material
