When architect Karen Abernethy first met the house owners of Peter McIntyre’s Coil Home (1954), it was round a cramped four-seater eating desk, which in some way match the household of 5.
Bettering the performance of the home was clearly required, however renovations couldn’t compromise the legacy of the heritage-protected dwelling.
The home will get its identify from its ‘coil’ ground plan, which curves down its sloping Ivanhoe East web site, initially to accomodate two eucalyptus timber. ‘The [main] eucalyptus timber have lengthy been eliminated, however the home nonetheless curves round a brand new landscaped native backyard and appears onto the broader river panorama past,’ says Karen.
Coil Home was certainly one of McIntyre’s first solo tasks after beginning his architectural apply in 1950. His most notable tasks embrace the Melbourne Olympic Pool (1956), Parliament Station (1974), and Dinner Plain Alpine Village.
Some modifications had been made to Coil Home within the Seventies. As well as, McIntyre’s unique exterior brick paint color was modified to white, and the function joinery colors altered. The kitchen joinery, nonetheless, was nonetheless in its unique type from the Fifties.
Karen’s job was sustaining the remaining Fifties options whereas increasing the house to go well with the household, who bought the property from the unique Snelleman house owners. Her purchasers desired a barely bigger and extra trendy dwelling space, kitchen, and toilet, in addition to a brand new research and principal bed room.
To keep away from interrupting the present type of the unique reverse J-shaped home, Karen added two minimal pavilions to the rear of the present coil.
These pavilions — one single-storey housing a brand new household room, and one double-storey containing the research and principal bed room above — are related to the unique dwelling with glazed linking buildings that present a visible separation between previous and new. ‘The glazed areas not solely present a visible break but additionally body views of the present home that beforehand weren’t potential,’ says Karen.
The exterior supplies of the unique coil have been reinstated, and the brickwork painted in a darker color — just like the tone of McIntyre’s unique scheme. Inner components such because the brick paving on the entry and the unique hearth had been additionally restored.
Supplies within the additions intentionally distinction with the unique home. As Karen explains, ‘The place the unique home was predominantly darkish colored masonry externally, we designed a customized mild weight steel zig-zag cladding for the brand new additions.’ The unique flooring are timber and partitions are plaster, whereas the additions function travertine flooring, and brick partitions.
The kitchen and meals space was reconfigured and modernised — bringing each areas onto the identical degree — and seamlessly assembly the household room addition. The bedrooms, entryway, and lounge room in any other case stay as is, besides for brand spanking new joinery, polished flooring, and upgraded home windows.
The unique dwelling’s thermal envelope was additionally upgraded with new wall, ground, and ceiling insulation.
Gone is that tiny eating desk. Coil Home now has the house and performance required for a household of 5, with out compromising Peter’s unique imaginative and prescient.
Karen consulted with Peter all through the method, and he accepted the design strategy.
