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Australian practice Christopher Polly Architect have renovated an old brick house in Annandale, Sydney. The plan was to expand the living space without any environmental impact and minimal changes to the existing brick home. By using the fall in the site towards the rear, the architects have inserted a lower ground room under the original fabric of the building. This new expansion extends deeply beneath the existing building and outwards towards the garden area.
The new ground floor accommodates a bathroom, bedroom and a study room. A large living and dining room that opens to the garden is reached by a staircase that also doubles as a storage unit.
From the architects, “The project retains its original envelope and significant portion of its ground floor fabric as part of its overriding environmental and economic sustainability objectives. New work is substantially embedded within the existing footprint, with only a modestly-sized 20sqm addition to the rear. Vaulted ceilings and skylights carved within the original roof form expand volumes for access to light and sky within the middle of the ground floor – while a stair hall, cantilevered balcony and generous void spatially expands to the lower level below, and upwards to views of the external environment to strengthen connections to its setting. Fenestration placement improves natural light access and promotes passive ventilation, assisted by ceiling fans and a roof venting system to exhaust trapped heat out of the original roof space.”
Project Description:
Date: 2009 – 2012
Location: Annandale, Sydney
Structural Engineer: SDA Structures
Hydraulic Engineer: ACOR Consultants
Builder: R.G. Gregson Constructions Pty Ltd
Photography: Brett Boardman
