On a prominent corner lot, Armadale House chronicles an affinity for its heritage setting, integrating contemporary additions with an 1882 Victorian dwelling. Spearheaded by Taylor Knights, the project retains the primary structure and reconfigures the plan to accommodate multi-generational use. Alterations and additions are confined to areas that improve circulation and amenity, reducing structural intervention.
The approach follows the logic of the original footprint, with structural interventions kept to a minimum. Adaptable zoning facilitates multi-generational use, allowing spaces to shift and evolve. The addition of a new entry sequence, comprising a brick stair and gate, then reorientates circulation, providing independent movement across the property.
Windows and doorways were calibrated to maximise natural light permeation and cross-ventilation, additionally framing views across the garden – the fenestration sustains a connection to the landscape at every turn. The planning accommodates social spaces and places of respite – a sunken lounge and island bench for communal life, a formal dining room and quiet sitting area for privacy – allowing the house to oscillate between conviviality and seclusion.
Moving to materiality, modern brickwork acknowledges the weight and texture of the Victorian house without resorting to mimicry, while in-situ concrete and proportioned glazing introduce a counterpoint. A masonry wall encompassing the garage, boundary fence and rear veranda forms a singular division that delineates a central courtyard garden. Within this garden, an outdoor fireplace, swimming pool and first-floor balcony generate a sheltered locus.
However, it is collaboration that underpins the project more than anything else. Detailed work with Ben Scott Garden Design integrates the architecture and landscape as one, ensuring that soil depth, drainage and structure support a first-floor garden as readily as they do the ground plane. Traditional craftsmanship was tested on site; dry-laid bricks and concrete samples were scrutinised alongside bespoke steel windows and doors, delivering tactile surfaces and fine junctions. Armadale House is shaped by collaboration between past and present, where respect for parallel crafts and traditions informs a project characterised by integrity and durability.
