Empire is the renovation and addition of a modest, inter-war style bungalow. The clients’ brief was for “a long-term family home that catches the sun,” ideally without demolishing or adding an unsympathetic addition. The answer was to build two pavilions, sympathetic to the existing post-war house but distinctly contemporary in detail.
The two pavilions sit comfortably against the existing home and place the owners Lindy, Paul and their daughter Mia, in a beautiful, established garden that is characteristic of this Canberra suburb.
The aim was to retain and enhance as much of the existing character as possible. The site was gently slping, with a south facing rear garden. The internal layout was confused and the orientation made the kitchen dark and cold. The answer was to go in with a scalpel, making some big moves but without damaging too much. Site lines were cleared, the living spaces were opened up to the outdoors and a corridor straight through the house was created.
The new kitchen/dining addition is a pavilion in the garden that maximises passive solar gain, connected to the existing house via a corridor ‘link’. A large north facing roof window spans across the pavilion, and is protected by operable louvres. The master bedroom pavilion is a similar approach of addition accessed via a link. This pavilion is visible from the street, so it was important to respect the character of the old home, but create a distinctly contemporary piece of architecture. The white shingle form rests on a datum of red brick, responding to the materiality of the existing house.
The distinguishing feature of Empire is the craftsmanship of the white metal shingles, each one hand-finished and fixed with mathematical precision. The shingles creates a conversation and relationship between the two eras, while making it incredibly transparent where the old and new elements meet. Great care was taken in the finishing, particularly the concealed box gutter and the oversized shingle ridge capping. The attention to detail externally is reflected internally, particularly in the Blackbutt timber lining. Empire house is a relatively small, hand-crafted home, unapologetic in its architectural detail and craftsmanship.
Lindy: “Our new living room improves our wellbeing beyond anything we had imagined. The house is performing better than we could have hoped for, from both a functional and design point of view. It’s going to adapt and age beautifully.”
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