S
implicity can go a long way in architecture. This house in
Marrickville, Sydney is a 1930s brick villa that had a simple
lean-to at the rear. Now the lean-to is gone and a two-storey
addition accommodates an open-plan kitchen and living
area that extends into the garden, with a main bedroom and ensuite
upstairs. It is a simple solution designed to create more living space
and a parents’ retreat while keeping the budget as low as possible.
Andrew Macdonald of MI Architects designed the extension
for his good friends and their two teenage foster children, taking
advantage of the width of the site and its north-facing aspect. The
addition is at the rear of the house, where the living spaces and
parents’ retreat connect to the garden and enjoy the benefits of
northern light. “It’s a very simple diagram. It’s basically a box on a
box,” Andrew says. “Nothing too fancy or clever for clever’s sake –
all in order to keep the budget down.”
The building was approved through a fast-track approval process,
with a Complying Development Certificate (CDC), which meant
the envelope of the building was prescribed. Because the western
wall of the ground-level addition is set at 900 millimetres from the
boundary, its height could reach 4.5 metres. The fresh white lower
volume maximizes this height in the north-west corner, gradually
declining toward the north-east and south-west corners and break-
ing down the appearance of “a box on a box.”
This volume is clad in a lightweight external insulated wallboard
that reduces the amount of structural steel required given the span
of glass doors. The rendered finish extends over the parapet with a
proprietary capless system that eliminates the need for traditional
metal capping, creating a clean, crisp edge that stands out against
the upper level and sky.
To meet CDC requirements, the first-storey addition is set in
from the ground floor and its eastern wall, which is closer to the
boundary, and steps in again to bring natural light into the bedroom.
It is composed of the same insulated wallboard on a bulk-insulated
timber frame to avoid the lightweight volume “cooking in summer.”
Cedar cladding left to weather and grey is low maintenance and
visually softens its boxiness.
The ground floor of the addition contains the kitchen, with an
island bench, dining area and lounge facing a fireplace – the only
heating system in the house. Exposing the structural beams of the
ceiling (painted, laminated veneer lumber) was a money-saving
03 A money-saving strategy
to expose structural
beams provides depth
and rhythm to the room.
02 Cedar cladding left to
weather and grey softens
the boxiness of the first-
storey addition.
strategy that has provided depth, dimension and rhythm to the room.
The kitchen bench extends along and beyond the length
of the eastern wall, with the window pivoting open to create an
uninterrupted, all-weather kitchen. Cast in situ, the concrete
benches sit atop painted brick supports and black formply cupboards,
and the brick front of the island has a concave curve to allow for
seating. Matt grey triangular mosaic tiles on the splashback look
like etched concrete and the solid blackbutt timber shelves, with
LED lighting underneath, add warm detail to the kitchen. BB hoop
pine plywood stretches along the southern wall, concealing a large
pantry next to the kitchen and a laundry under the stairs as well as
providing shelving that frames the transition between the original
house and the new extension.
Stacking the large timber-framed sliding glass doors opens the
interior to the barbecue and outdoor dining area and burnished
concrete flooring provides thermal mass in both spaces. Overhead,
a clear corrugated polycarbonate canopy with UV protection provides
shelter from the sun and rain and bamboo screens add texture
and shade.
In the south-west corner, a side door provides a second entrance/
exit to the house and a spotted gum staircase leads to the parents’
retreat upstairs. Accommodating the main bedroom, ensuite and
potential study, the retreat is spacious and private, with views over
the garden. Clerestory windows allow natural light into the bedroom
and draw hot air out of the house, and windows on both sides of the
ensuite allow for cross-ventilation. Terrazzo tiles on the floor and
walls of the ensuite add texture and detail, and the blackbutt trim
and shelf bring warmth. Hoop pine plywood and black formply are
repeated upstairs in the cupboards and drawers.
Back downstairs there are three bedrooms, a bathroom, a study
and a music room in the original house. Little work was done here,
other than realigning the hallway so as to enlarge the bathroom and
allow direct passage and a sightline from the front of the house to
the rear.
Using a fast approval process, unpretentious materials and a
clear diagram to keep the form simple, Andrew has delivered an
effective extension that meets the clients’ brief and budget. “It’s the
most straightforward job we’ve done in a while and I’m really proud
of the simplicity,” he says. “It feels calm and garners a positive
response from those who visit.”
