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The builder / developer owner of this 1990s two bedroom semi-detached home in Balmain approached CO-AP Architects with a brief to complete the design detail and interiors for an existing planning-approved renovation, and to extend the home via a new two-storey rear addition. Architect Will Fung explains that ‘maximising daylight and green space was a priority’.
Natural light is now encouraged into the home though a series of skylights that Will highlights ‘flood through the upper floor bedroom and penetrate deep into the original house via a new stairwell.’ An elevated planter filled with verdant succulents provides a living privacy screen, and brings fresh greenery into the home.
The interiors mix salvaged structural timbers from the original building (repurposed as stair treads and shelving) with a fresh and simple palette of concrete, terracotta, and stone. Off-form concrete and Australian timber were used in the rear addition, and these materials are echoed between the old and new spaces.
Under the guidance of the client, the architects worked to improve the existing garden through landscaping, rather than create off-street parking. Parks over parking!
