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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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Lift & Extend
HomesEditorial Team

Lift & Extend

Australia

Elana Castle discovers another crafty and context-appropriate residential extension by Sydney-based architecture firm carterwilliamson.


“The client brief was simple,”says carterwilliamson founder and director, Shaun Carter. ”We were asked to enlarge the footprint of a Federation, workman’s cottage in Wareemba to include two additional bedrooms and a living space, commensurate with the scale and proportion of a four bedroom house.”

wareemba_7

However, what carterwilliamson brought to the brief, was the transformation of an essentially English model of development into a context-appropriate, Antipodean scheme that responds to the temperate Australian climate and distinctly ‘outdoorsy’ lifestyle.

wareemba_6

“We proposed a model of development that didn’t involve a typical knock down replaced by a ‘McMansion’, hideous in bulk and scale,” explains Shaun Carter.  “We see this house as a typology.  An architectural strategy that involves adding a contemporary element that addresses context, climate and the family’s needs, whilst retaining the good parts of an old building.”

wareemba_5

To this end, carterwilliamson removed the dark, cramped confused planning of the rear lean-tos, stitching the remaining house to the new extension via a light, thin connection which opens into a generous kitchen and entertainment zone. “The new open plan living areas centralised the services, allowing the house to open and embrace the landscape,” adds Carter, “whilst the stair, located across the plan, connects the house vertically, maximising spatial efficiency.”

wareemba_3

The team have also integrated a small courtyard into the middle of the extension, which “allows the house to breathe,” through cleverly positioned window openings and louvres which also scoop light deep into the interiors.

wareemba_2

As expected, the material palette is equally context-appropriate.  Bold use of FC-sheet external cladding, a cast concrete floor and a timber structure extend and underscore the simplicity of the original house whilst setting the tone for carterwilliamson’s crafty addition.

carterwiliamson
carterwilliamson.com

Photography: Castle + Beatty
castlebeatty.com


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carterwilliamsonCastle + BeattyHome ArchitectureHouse ArchitectureResidential Architecture


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Issue 62 - Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62

Living in the Environment Issue

Issue 62 is the first issue of the year and always a great time to put our best foot forward. With Adam Goodrum, the loveliest man in design, as Guest Editor, we draw on his insights as a furniture designer, artist and educator to look at the makers shaping our design world. Sustainability has never been more important, and increasingly this is a consideration from the start with projects designed to address their immediate environment as well as the longevity of the planet. From the coldest winters to the most tropical of summers, addressing how we live in the environment is crucial to creating the perfect home.

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