This cottage in Northgate was well suited for the humidity. Its structure was raised on stumps to allow air circulation beneath, and a deep veranda wrapped the front and side to keep the interiors cool. When the owners got in touch with Brisbane architect Matt Kennedy and his firm Arcke to insert a ground-level apartment, he took the opportunity to improve on a good thing.

Inspired by the client’s passion for Japanese design, Arcke reinterpreted the Queenslander’s defining feature, its veranda, as an engawa. The difference, notes Kennedy, is that an engawa’s inner screens and shutters can be fully opened, offering the home “greater connection with the external space,” and more control over ventilation than a veranda. Here, Arcke used louvered windows and sliding doors to maximize airflow.

Just as Arcke honored the home’s essence by reimagining rather than replacing the veranda, the team also gave a nod to the original vertical timber stumps by surrounding the home with Japanese-inspired slatted wood screens. The firm recessed the ground level and fringed it with battened timber, lined the upper decks with similar screens, and lined the front of the property with a modern take on a picket fence. The multipurpose screens provide privacy and give the home its distinctive look.

Reliance on local timber is common for both Japanese and Australian builders, says Kennedy. For the interiors of the addition, he and the Arcke team used recycled blackbutt (a eucalyptus timber), and New Guinea rosewood for the external sliding doors and windows.

Arcke removed the back deck and replaced it with an outdoor dining area at a level between the main residence upstairs and the apartment below. As Kennedy explains, the placement allows for the family to gather in a neutral spot “without particular ownership from either upstairs or downstairs.”

Surrounding the open dining area with greenery, Arcke topped the roof of the nearby carport with a small succulent garden.

The team also replaced a back bathroom with a sunken zen garden that can be seen from the dining area and other interior and exterior vantage points. “Our client has an excellent knowledge and passion for Japanese gardens,” says Kennedy. He notes that the client-driven garden design has a “symbiotic” relationship with the home’s architecture, and incorporates both native and other subtropical plant varietals.

Other than a shared laundry room, the apartment and home are each self contained, with their own entrances and full kitchens. Both entrances have been moved to the side of the home, splitting each level horizontally into a public zone that opens onto the back garden and a private zone facing, but screened off from, the street.

Echoing the exterior batting, Arcke used slatted wooden screens to separate spaces without blocking light or airflow.

Wanting to complement the garden and imbue the home with a sense of calm, Arcke chose three shades of green for the external facade of the house as well as green accents for the tiles and cabinetry inside. “Heritage green is a traditional paint shade for a Queenslander,” says Kennedy.

The downstairs apartment, which is fully wheelchair accessible, features polished concrete floors. Upstairs, the existing pine floors were refinished with eco-friendly hard wax to bring out the warmth of the wood.

At the street-facing facade, Arcke created privacy using patterned glass instead of curtains.

From inside, the engawa and timber batting neatly frame views of the garden. Throughout the redesign, Kennedy focused on quality of light in the house and creating abundant visual and physical access to the landscape.

More from Arcke:

A Central Courtyard Fills an Australian Home With Light and Lush Greenery

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Arcke / @matt_arcke

Interior Design: Arcke

Builder/General Contractor: Mair Constructions / @mairconstructions1

Landscape Design: Dan Young Landscape Architect / @danyoungla

Cabinetry: Juro Design / @juro_design

Paint: Dulux (colors include Coalition, Laminex Spinifex (matches cabinetry), Penzance (mid green), and Concealment (darkest green)

Lighting: Pendant light in kitchen is Nau Design from Cult Design

Tiles: Vogue Ceramica from Classic Ceramics

Photographer: Andy Macpherson / @andymacpherson.studio