Project: Ward House
Architects: Sam Crawford Architects
Location: Roseville, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Photographs by: Brett Boardman
Sam Crawford Architects have undertaken a renovation project of the Ward House that is located within a heritage conservation area in Roseville, a suburb of the Upper North Shore of Sydney, Australia.
The house itself originates from the 1950s and was originally built in the Post War Austere Style, but it has already undergone an extension in the 1980s, although this extension didn’t do it much good. In fact, the architects decided it was best to remove the extension that broke away from the house’s original style. They’ve also redesigned and reconfigured the interior areas, successfully providing a modern living space to the owners.
This 1950 Post War Austere Style dwelling sits within a heritage conservation area in Roseville, and had already undergone a problematic extension in the 1980s. Whilst presenting a single storey towards the street, the sloping site left the rear of the house perched giddily above the garden, providing no connection to the outdoors, whilst the western sun beat unmediated into the family areas. The brief included reconfiguring some internal rooms to provide a modernised bathroom, laundry and master bedroom, whilst providing a contemporary kitchen, dining and living space with deck.
By removing the unoriginal extension and stepping the new volume gently down the slope, the new house achieves a much better physical and visual connection to the garden without doing away with the sense of elevation over its surrounds. The new masonry extension is slightly offset outside of the existing side walls, delineating old from new with a respectful nod. A corrugated skillion roof tucks beneath the existing roof to the rear and soars up to the north in one simple gesture, with deep framed volumes sitting collected beneath, moderating the sun and providing framed views into the garden. The result is a home that is quintessentially Australian, combining recycled materials and ESD principles within a lush, tree-filled setting that can only be guessed at from the street. Glimpses of green and blue are never lacking in the new sun-splashed living areas and bathrooms, whilst the main bedroom feels like a secluded treehouse thanks to clever planning and view-framing.
–Sam Crawford Architects
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