Brunswick West Home is stuffed with surprises. On strategy, the home seems as a modest, single-fronted terrace adorned with Victorian detailing. Solely upon coming into are the true proportions of the residence laid naked, unfolding to disclose a beneficiant household residence with a rear addition that’s largely undetectable from the road, except for a sliver of brick detailing above the roof line. On this method, the home feels delightfully paying homage to a joyful scene in a kids’s movie the place an object is seemingly bigger on the within than it first seems.
The venture concerned remodeling the unique plan and stretching the prevailing home to incorporate a rectilinear floor ground extension and a set-back second storey. The tight circumstances of the location and present heritage constraints made this endeavour notably difficult, nonetheless this didn’t deter Nardel Architects. The observe – with the assist of heritage and planning consultants – fastidiously negotiated and earned every further millimetre of house, together with over-height ceilings.
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The outside brickwork of the up to date addition references each historical past and place, because the precinct through which the property is situated was as soon as residence to the Hoffman Patent Brick and Tile Firm, a mass producer of brick and tiles that operated for practically a century from 1870. This new brick quantity is a juxtapositional complement to the historic entrance facade. Interval options on the street-facing facade – reminiscent of fretwork, a window and a door – have been restored in honour of the house’s origins. Particulars of the identical period, together with cornices and a corbel arch, proceed that ornamental dialogue internally earlier than steadily transitioning to fashionable brick accents.
Given the south-facing orientation of the home, entry to gentle previous to adaptation was restricted, leading to a dim inside. To treatment this, customized skylights have been put in within the lavatory and hallway, whereas floor-to-ceiling home windows have been added within the kitchen. Moreover, a steel-framed field seat window was integrated into an upstairs bed room. This infiltration of sunshine has contributed to higher visibility of architectural expressions and supplies, highlighting arches and curves, in addition to the uncooked qualities of brick, timber, concrete and stone.
The tip result’s a lightweight, ethereal residence that constantly delights in essentially the most great methods.
Brunswick West Home by Nardel Architects was shortlisted within the 2024 Homes Awards for Home Alteration and Addition beneath 200 sq. metres. In the identical awards program, the observe was additionally shortlisted for Rising Structure Apply.
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