Limerick House is a modest addition to an existing dwelling on a rural Victorian property. The new addition orientates the home towards the expansive country hillside views, providing a connection to its surrounds not evident in the existing dwelling.
The form of the addition was inspired by the dilapidated timber shearing sheds that inhabit the local area.
The exterior of the addition is clad entirely in spotted gum decking boards, stained black to enhance the resemblance the materiality of the dilapidated shearing sheds. The aging of the timber as it silvers off will further enhance this resemblance.
Silvertop ash lining boards were used extensively internally to contrast the dark, timber clad exterior, and to encourage the traditional notion of a warm winter weekend cabin.
The gabled form of the addition responds to the existing pitched roofs of the existing house. The new addition has the same dimensions and shape as the existing three railway cottages used to build the existing house, but is sloped on the eastern boundary to create a doorway, used to link the house to another existing house on the property.
Led by a strong contemporary design sensibility, Melbourne-based Solomon Troup Architects are an emerging architectural practice with an unwavering commitment to creating contemporary and timeless residential homes and commercial spaces. more
When the eventual owners first visited the existing Alan Taniguchi house in Austin’s Westlake Hills, they knew right away this was the home they wanted to live in. Sited high in the hills, the original house was designed with balcony/deck access in every single room, opening up to the nature and tranquility just minutes away from downtown Austin. The 90’s home, however, desperately needed an update as well as an addition to accommodate their needs.
The remodel and addition respects the strong qualities of the existing structure and site, while enhancing it and supplementing it with additional development. The renovation portion includes a complete update of interior and exterior finishes to achieve a fresh aesthetic with clean lines. Wood and stone compliment the freshly-painted white stucco from the outside, while the interior finishes are kept simple to accentuate the sweeping views of the rolling hills. The design reworks the kitchen area for an articulated yet open kitchen/dining experience, and features flush panel walnut cabinets, white Silestone countertops waterfall edge island, and sleek Wolf appliances.
As a film producer/editor from Los Angeles, the husband needed a workspace that could be separated from the domestic life. A freestanding structure was added which acts as both a studio and a pool house. The new live/work space defines the southern edge of the pool with adjacent hot tub and BBQ area, squaring up the courtyard which was also re-designed to suit the family’s lifestyle and act as the unifying element between the buildings. The additional structure is strategically positioned to frame views to the pool, the hills, and the cactus-filled slope in the back. A wood-clad accent wall extends from the wood deck, further emphasizing the indoor-outdoor connection, with a sequence of covered patios connecting the addition to the main house. The intention is to be as much a platform to experience the surrounding landscape as it is a container to enable the flow of daily work and live functions.
A native of Austin, Matt Fajkus holds a Master in Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he completed his thesis work with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rafael Moneo. Before going independent in 2010 and establishing MF Architecture, Fajkus achieved significant experience in architectural practice. While working for the world-renowned firm Foster + Partners in London for several years, he worked on the design of numerous high-profile, international large-scale projects. Starting at firms in 1998, he also worked on numerous small-scale award-winning projects while with Max Levy Architects in Dallas, Brinkley Sargent Architects, and Julie Snow Architects in Minneapolis. In 2012, Fajkus was awarded two AIA National Emerging Professional Awards.
In addition to leading MF Architecture, Fajkus is a Tenured Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, where he teaches courses in design, technology, daylighting and integrated sustainability. In 2013 he was recognized with the University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award – the highest teaching honor awarded by the entire school system. Additionally in 2013, Fajkus was presented with the Faculty Scholarship Award for Innovative Practice, and the ACSA/AIAS National New Faculty Teaching Award in 2012. He has co-authoring a book titled Architectural Science and the Sun, which is currently under contract with Routledge Publishers.
Fajkus is a LEED Accredited Professional and a licensed architect in the State of Texas. Fajkus was named the winner of the Engineering, Architecture and Design category at the 17th Austin Under 40 Award in 2015, and the winner of AIA Austin’s Emerging Professional Achievement Honor Award in 2017.
A 1980s beach house is given a new lease on life with the addition of a playroom, first floor deck and expanded living spaces. The original split-face block base is kept and the new program is grafted on, greatly enhancing orientation and functionality.
Figureground Architecture is a Melbourne based architectural studio established in 2011.
Since its recent inception Figureground has developed a reputation as a leader in innovative hospitality design, gaining awards for early projects such as Pope Joan Bar and Industry Beans Café and Roastery.
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A small addition and intricate interior intervention to a classic 1960s beach shack situated only a stone’s throw away from Portsea’s iconic Shelly Beach.
This charming four-bedroom cottage had a lot of existing Mid-century Modernist features to work with including lattice steel trusses, painted brick and white timber windows. The client’s brief was to build on this and improve the use and internal flow of the kitchen/living spaces, create a better connection to the garden as well as make design updates to the joinery, lighting and bathrooms.
To the front a modest reverse lean-to addition sits respectfully back from the original beach shack and surrounding houses. Inside is a relaxed and light multipurpose hangout – that opens up front and backyard alike – blurring the lines between the inside and the outdoors. A painted brick spine and concrete bench continues to the outside either end of this room, connecting the two outdoor spaces and creating the backdrop to a front garden sitting ledge and a playful backyard BBQ and pizza oven.
All images courtesy of Pleysier Perkins Architects
Pleysier Perkins Architects
Pleysier Perkins is a Melbourne based architecture and interior design practice established by Ramon Pleysier and Simon Perkins in 2002. They share responsibility for a diverse range of mainly residential projects with Studio Director Berit Barton and Associates Anthony Dann, Ross Berger and Julian Legg. All are supported by a talented team of architects, interior designers and graduates. more
Located on a small triangular lot near Bull Creek in Austin, this house addition was required to comply with complex ordinance regulations which drastically constrain the possibility to add area to an 800 square-foot house originally built in the 1950’s. The house design embraces these constraints, rather than fighting them, to create a truly unique house and experience.
The addition of a new master bedroom suite was to be configured within the acute angle of the triangular lot, while the entry/dining space is simply an expansion of the existing living/entry area on the wider portion of the property. The limits of the triangular lot were further compounded by the setback requirements for a corner lot, which required a 15′ side-yard setback making a single-story addition almost impossible. Budget optimization, however, made a single-story scheme more advantageous, so we petitioned to the city’s Board of Adjustment for a 10′ setback, which was granted. These constraints were influential in the creation of an articulate, yet humble and respectful addition to the original house.
New roof geometry and corollary clerestory windows are key components of the design, allowing natural light to reach the full depth of each space in nuanced ways. The original, simple gable structure was kept intact and articulated as a crisp white box to juxtapose the wood-lined, glass box additions for the master suite and the dining/entry space. Wood windows and tall gable ceilings offset the original interior from the compressed, cypress-lined, glassy spaces of the additions. The articulation of new versus old is further emphasized by the natural light that pierces through the clerestory windows at points of connection. At all times, one is aware of the conceptual principles of the project.
A native of Austin, Matt Fajkus holds a Master in Architecture from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he completed his thesis work with Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rafael Moneo. Before going independent in 2010 and establishing MF Architecture, Fajkus achieved significant experience in architectural practice. While working for the world-renowned firm Foster + Partners in London for several years, he worked on the design of numerous high-profile, international large-scale projects. Starting at firms in 1998, he also worked on numerous small-scale award-winning projects while with Max Levy Architects in Dallas, Brinkley Sargent Architects, and Julie Snow Architects in Minneapolis. In 2012, Fajkus was awarded two AIA National Emerging Professional Awards.
In addition to leading MF Architecture, Fajkus is a Tenured Associate Professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, where he teaches courses in design, technology, daylighting and integrated sustainability. In 2013 he was recognized with the University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award – the highest teaching honor awarded by the entire school system. Additionally in 2013, Fajkus was presented with the Faculty Scholarship Award for Innovative Practice, and the ACSA/AIAS National New Faculty Teaching Award in 2012. He has co-authoring a book titled Architectural Science and the Sun, which is currently under contract with Routledge Publishers.
Fajkus is a LEED Accredited Professional and a licensed architect in the State of Texas. Fajkus was named the winner of the Engineering, Architecture and Design category at the 17th Austin Under 40 Award in 2015, and the winner of AIA Austin’s Emerging Professional Achievement Honor Award in 2017.
All images courtesy of Rosevear Stephenson Architects
PLAN
Rosevear Stephenson Architects
Rosevear Stephenson Architects
Rosevear Stephenson is a partnership of Craig Rosevear and Martin Stephenson with experience in residential, commercial, tourism and heritage projects in Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales. more
Project Team: John Wardle, Diego Bekinschtein, Andrew Wong, Danielle Peck, Jeff Arnold, Jenna Ong, Luca Vezzosi, Elisabetta Zanella
Construction: Spence Construction
Lighting: Light Project
Like a divining stick locating water, this house directs itself to the view.
An existing house on the property has been completely reimagined as part of a larger schema for the site. A new timber screen acts like a hedge to define a protected courtyard space – a cultivated garden within the broader rolling hills of the Mornington Peninsula landscape. The new house branches from the old across the slope, unfolding to engage with expansive views stretching over Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay. A skin of copper on the sides of the house is taut and crisply defining. It is sliced open to frame the views that have been divined from the site.
Entry is through a glass link between old and new where a glimpse of the view is afforded before venturing inside. Timber of local species is used to line the interior, with varying textures across floor, walls and joinery. The interior is like a cabinet itself, a place to wander through, a place for refuge and prospect.
Awards:
2016: Winner – Architecture Award, Alterations and Additions
2016 Shortlisted, Houses Award, Alternation and Additions
This extension to a pre-war suburban house is generated by a series of brick volumes connected by discreet landscaped areas. A clear grid informs the new addition’s planning, with each of the main spaces (dining room, living room, bedroom) located separately.
The project extends the house into the garden, the plan shifted and manipulated to capture views of beautiful mature trees on the site and in neighbouring gardens. Distinct spaces are created externally (a courtyard, a formal lawn, a raised external dining area and pool) and then drawn back into the house through large areas of glazed openings.
The project’s materials are a juxtaposition between the brickwork, ‘bagged’ and painted white, and dark steel and timber elements that link them. Large sliding doors, their frames concealed, open the major rooms to the garden and courtyards. Deep window reveals open to the north, while operable timber screens shield western windows from the sun.
Internally a restrained palette of concrete floors, plaster walls and American Walnut timber joinery gives the client’s art and furniture collection prominence, while simultaneously creating a backdrop for their young family to add vitality.
Located in Fremantle WA, David Barr Architect seeks honesty and regional appropriateness with each project. Innovative solutions are crafted through rigorous research, analysis and programmatic responsiveness. Each work embodies an understanding of site, programme and human occupation. These notions are explored through the fundamentals of volume, light and material composition to create an atmospheric architectural design solution.
