Title	Type	Location
Kew Tree House	Residential Alterations + Addition	Kew, VIC

Who
Freany + Jithendra, a retired professional couple

What they wanted
To upgrade an internally awkward and dark middle suburban Californian Bungalow into a light, modern 3 bedroom + study residence.

Project
An alteration and addition to a Californian Bungalow

Size
Site: 600m2 / Floor Area: 165m2 = 99m2 (existing) + 66m2 (addition)

Overview
The site is in Kew, a suburb where many of the streets are characterised with rows of established trees. The site also had a number of trees: Importantly, there was a small group of huge eucalypts in the backyard which the owners loved, so they became integral to the design of the new addition.

Through the angling of the glass rear wall, the angling of the eave and decks, the use of a restrained internal material palette and the terracing down of the floor and deck levels to follow the site, the intention was to create a varied + generous interior animated by the light, trees, shadows and landscape.

The largely white interior of the house extension contrasted and highlighted the external landscape. It was also selected to enable easy personalisation for the owners who had a rich and colourful collection of furniture, objects and art from their many overseas holidays.

Country
Wurundjeri

Context

Concept

Model Study

East Elevation

North Elevation

Key Themes:

Landscape

Floor levels and rear decks terrace downward toward the north to follow the sloping site. This helps to maintain a connection to the landscape as one moves through the house. The largely white interior of the house extension provided a clear contrasting canvas able to be animated by the light and shadows from the rear trees and landscape. Timber framed windows and timber batten walls with grey stain finish were used externally to blend with the tree trunks of the surrounding eucalypts in the rear yard

Environmental Performance

The rear extension has substantial north facing windows which utilise the existing trees for shading from the summer sun. An eave overhang is provided for these windows where there are no trees to offer shading. Insulation was provided throughout all walls, floor and roof. All new windows are double glazed with low e coating.

Spatial Relationships

The site slope was followed by the floor levels of the new addition, as they terrace downwards towards the less private spaces adjacent the north back garden. This creates different floor to ceiling heights under a single ceiling to create distinct yet interconnected spaces.

Strategic upgrade

The extension was conceived as a single volume of efficient construction. It has a simple flat roof with interconnected spaces differentiated by changes in floor level which follow the sloping site.

Photography:

Rhiannon Slatter