Hasta La Ideas

Small windows scattered across the facade of this house extension outside Melbourne by Australian practice Wolveridge Architects limit the amount of direct sunlight entering the building (+ slideshow).

Wolveridge Architects designed the extension to provide additional bedrooms for the owners’ three young sons, who are now housed above a large garage.

The architects say that the composition of openings in the facade “is designed to restrict the inflow of undesirable west sun and provides a suitable level of visual engagement with the street.”

Anodised aluminium window frames contrast with the dark stained western red cedar cladding that covers the new addition and maintains the house’s existing material palette.

Inside the bedrooms, the windows are integrated into a geometric arrangement of cabinetry that creates storage and seating.

The extension also incorporates a new living area that is separated from the bedrooms by a large shaded terrace with views of the nearby forest.

Yesterday we published a beach house by Wolveridge Architects with louvred shutters concealing its windows and architect Clare Cousins recently extended a family home in Australia by adding a stilted timber-framed guest house. See more houses in Australia »

Photography is by Ben Hosking.

Here’s a project description from the architects:

Blairgowrie House

This extension to an existing two storey dwelling provides essential additional living areas for a family with three young boys. The original structure made very little connection with the surrounding property and had deficiencies in access to northern light.

By bringing the façade dramatically forward towards the street it was possible to incorporate the three required bedrooms above a large garage on street level.

To separate the bedrooms from the new living area a north facing courtyard was introduced which also provides a terrific outlook towards the surrounding Moonah forest.

The block type form established from bringing the front of the dwelling forward and its western orientation influenced a design decision to create a complex series of openings in the façade, allowing for plenty of natural light to the children’s bedrooms within.

The composition of openings is designed to restrict the inflow of undesirable west sun and provides a suitable level of visual engagement with the street.

The cabinetry design integrates with the complex window arrangement on the outside, creating a playful sense within each bedroom.

The existing palette of dark stained western red cedar cladding and anodised aluminium window frames was carried through in the new work, integrating the original structure within the proposed design, but still providing a sense of separation.

Project name: Blairgowrie House
Date of construction completion: 25/08/12
Project team: Jerry Wolveridge, Sina Petzold, Ricky Booth, David Anthony
Builder and Construction Manager: Tim Prebble
Structural/Civil Engineer: Don Moore & Associates
Building Surveyor: Nepean Building Permits

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