residential addition & alteration
tennyson, adelaide
south australia
australian institute of architects awards
residential alterations & additions (commendation, 2017)
sustainable architecture (nomination, 2017)
conceptual framework:
The misery of a 7 foot man living in an 8 foot house.
Strategies to open up space:
Gaping void.
Peeling open walls.
New works with higher ceilings.
public and cultural benefits:
tennyson dunes - yaitya worra
One of the few remaining coastal reserves on the Adelaide foreshore. It contains important native SA dunal flora and fauna and current community engagement is rehabilitating the area.
The view from the dune was considered more important than the street view and the meandering unsealed timber towers and recycled timber pergola offer a patina that will age sympathetically with the softness of the dunes.
Conversely Tennyson is renowned for the mega mansion and garish 80's edifies of render and salmon.
Our aim was to create an aesthetic where design consideration has informed the shape and materiality of the home rather than status anxiety.
relationship of built form to context:
Existing house is a two stack 2.4m pancake. Users suffered the low ceilings and were evaluating whether this could actually be resolved in a renovation.
The main built form manoeuvre was to punch a hole in the upper floor to create intense vertical space centrally. Where possible walls were removed or windows installed such that the lowered ceiling break off spaces were able to borrow from this verticality.
A playful cost saving strategy was to peel the new forms of the masonry rear wall. Existing window openings were retained, creating a modern ruin from which we peel the new lightweight glass and timber forms. The new spaces enable increased ceiling heights.
program resolution:
Brief required:
Better relationship with the outdoor – resolved with the peeling of new more transparent living spaces located at the rear
Better entrance – dedicated entrance sliced off front second living space and garage and sneaked under the stairs.
Views to dunes – from central circulating space and master bedroom and parents retreat.
3 bedroom with both parents' and children's retreats – void used to separate these spaces. Boys' retreat located centrally as their communal space… large sliding door closes this space off for gaming etc. Parents' retreat located over bridge
More usability – central pillar removed from the garage, kitchen zoned to allow multiuse separation of activities, separate laundry entrance, outdoor shower, outdoor cooking
sustainability:
Reorientation of the house to north.
New works allow whole house to breathe.
Vertical air movement through the void.
Improved cross ventilation.
Lighter masonry wall colours.
Recycled timbers for the pergola.
Incorporation of large existing gum tree into the pergola design.
client statement:
We wanted a home which weighed less.
The resolutions that John employed have given us that and more.
The understanding of us and our house and the resulting crafting of space and form is both impressive and comfortable.
