S

andy Bay, immediately to the south of Hobart’s CBD, is

characterized by a long-established and densely occupied

hillside overlooking expansive views of the Derwent River and

theinletsofitswestern shore. Vacant blocks are rare here;

the best new work cleverly alters and builds on existing built fabric,

with awareness of neighbouring buildings, in order to maintain

those views while retaining some level of privacy. The clients for

MawheraExtension–afamily of five – have lived here for fifteen

years. They love the house and the site, have close relationships with

many neighbours and have no plans to move. Consequently, part

of their brief to Preston Lane Architects was to maintain the feel of

their home. The clients also wanted to think ahead, considering the

need to accommodate their three girls through their teenage years

while acknowledging that the house should also feel comfortable for

just the two of them.

The clients recall a photo they had found of the original

house, showing a small, vertical board-clad cottage with a horse

andcartpassingby.The dwelling has had many lives, occupants

and alterations, including several over the past five decades. The

most substantial was a 1960s extension to the north-east, looking

toward the river. Unusually, the clients didn’t really want additional

space, but instead better spaces for the main bedroom, their living

and dining areas. They wanted to enable family time together or

apart, without ever feeling too separate, and they wanted better

connections to the garden. Typical of houses on this hill, the living

03 The stairwell brings light

into the centre of the

house and provides a

visual connection with

the garden below.

02 An engaged column caps

off an integrated window

seat and delineates

two cosy sitting spaces

looking over Sandy Bay.

level of the building hovered disconnected above its sloping site. The

clients also wanted to ensure that the new work would still happily

accommodate their collection of vintage furniture and objects.

Preston Lane Architects has taken a bold yet minimal approach

with the new work. The 1960s extension has been removed, with

key supporting walls retained where possible. A new dining space,

living room, sitting area, workspace, main bedroom and rumpus

room have all been grafted onto the house within a footprint similar

to that of the ‘60s extension. The work on the main living level

reads externally like a new white, light-filled, articulated box that

continues the building lines and the weatherboard cladding of the

existing house while being unashamedly contemporary. The work at

the garden level is clad more simply in cement sheet and all walls

are painted dark grey on this lower floor to break the overall scale of

the extension while drawing together the patchwork of old and new.

As is common in Tasmanian design, the architects have stretched

a relatively modest budget by building diverse modes of use into the

02