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Project posted by SydneyHouse

Sydney House

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Location
Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia
Year
1964
Structure
House (Single Residence)
Style
Modern
Keeping the original home intact, architect Sam Marshall noted the lack of private and quiet family space, and proximity of the noisy kitchen being too close to the small bedrooms. The 115 square metre modular Lowline floor plan was adapted by adding two new volumes. This allowed the owners to avoid structural changes to the much-loved Oregon beams, while creating contemporary spaces.
Keeping the original home intact, architect Sam Marshall noted the lack of private and quiet family space, and proximity of the noisy kitchen being too close to the small bedrooms. The 115 square metre modular Lowline floor plan was adapted by adding two new volumes. This allowed the owners to avoid structural changes to the much-loved Oregon beams, while creating contemporary spaces.
The original lounge and dining room with restored Oregon beams, opened up to the new Eastern module and rear deck.
The original lounge and dining room with restored Oregon beams, opened up to the new Eastern module and rear deck.
Built without external living areas for over 50 years, the eaves were extended to retain the Japanese post-and-beam styling which so influenced 'Sydney school' architecture. Ironbark decking allows teenagers to access their private spaces from their bedroom's via replaced cedar doors, and ample outdoor space.
Built without external living areas for over 50 years, the eaves were extended to retain the Japanese post-and-beam styling which so influenced 'Sydney school' architecture. Ironbark decking allows teenagers to access their private spaces from their bedroom's via replaced cedar doors, and ample outdoor space.
One of the original bedrooms with ensuite bathroom, its original mirror and beams and new access to the deck.
One of the original bedrooms with ensuite bathroom, its original mirror and beams and new access to the deck.
The generous master suite in the new module brings nature right through the large sashless windows. Below, the owners can see the Japanese pebbled courtyard, also an original space, and across to the garden.
The generous master suite in the new module brings nature right through the large sashless windows. Below, the owners can see the Japanese pebbled courtyard, also an original space, and across to the garden.
The Bluestone master bathroom referencing the natural materials throughout the house. A peekaboo window keeps the trees in view.
The Bluestone master bathroom referencing the natural materials throughout the house. A peekaboo window keeps the trees in view.
Stairs to the master suite feature a gifted Gino Sarfatti FLOS chandelier and a mid-level peekaboo window to the courtyard between the original and new module.
Stairs to the master suite feature a gifted Gino Sarfatti FLOS chandelier and a mid-level peekaboo window to the courtyard between the original and new module.
The contemporary family room module above the kitchen, and overlooking trees and the pool, often creates dancing shadows and is the perfect place to witness amazing sunsets.
The contemporary family room module above the kitchen, and overlooking trees and the pool, often creates dancing shadows and is the perfect place to witness amazing sunsets.
The heart of daily activity is the relocated kitchen which features hardwood flooring flowing from the original house to the new wing uninterrupted. Warm sun through the five metre cedar doors and louvered outdoor roof softens the light, while oak joinery and engineered stone provide practical and tactile finishes.
The heart of daily activity is the relocated kitchen which features hardwood flooring flowing from the original house to the new wing uninterrupted. Warm sun through the five metre cedar doors and louvered outdoor roof softens the light, while oak joinery and engineered stone provide practical and tactile finishes.
Internal bedroom doors were retained in their original tone, a specially developed pale eucalyptus tone, and finished with D handles.
Internal bedroom doors were retained in their original tone, a specially developed pale eucalyptus tone, and finished with D handles.
Pocket doors separate different zones in the new areas of the house. Old brick from the original house is not hidden or clad and instead is butted-up to the fresh wall of the new hallway.
Pocket doors separate different zones in the new areas of the house. Old brick from the original house is not hidden or clad and instead is butted-up to the fresh wall of the new hallway.

Details

Square Feet
4553
Lot Size
13745
Bedrooms
6
Full Baths
4

Credits

Posted by
Architect
Sam Marshall
Ken Woolley & Michael Dysart
Interior Design
Pettit+Sevitt 1964
Builder
Sydney House
Kitt Constructs
Publications
Domain

From SydneyHouse

Evolving a small modernist project home from 1964 meant balancing its design heritage while adapting it for contemporary family living.

Sydney House, originally a Pettit & Sevitt (P&S) home in the leafy suburbs north of the Harbour Bridge, lacked practical family spaces but sat on a gently sloping sun-soaked site, rich with tall eucalypts, birds and visits from native fauna. Alterations and additions by Sam Marshall, architect of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, pays homage to its modularity, connection to nature, and simple natural materials.

The house is one of the original Pettit & Sevitt Lowline designs by the late acclaimed architect Ken Woolley and it was the Lowline B which won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects design award in 1967 for project homes. A proponent of 'Sydney School' modernist architecture, Woolley's designs drew from Japanese post-and-beam construction and organic design elements among other things.

Owners Alexei and Kathryn Mazin were drawn to its simplicity, tranquility and relationship with the Australian landscape when they purchased the home, and saved it from being demolished. Inside, the light is often dappled by tree patterns peering in through the windows. Outside, the house sits unassumingly on the site with sleek clean lines. The original garden, although needing an overhaul, emphasised native plants, rocks for lizards, organic shapes and tall Lemon Scented Gums, Ironbarks and Angophora trees and they were keen to maintain this. It was a stark contrast to the manicured hedges and faux-Hamptons and Tuscan mega houses popping up in the streets nearby.

With the rarity of these homes not lost on award-winning architect Sam Marshall, in 2016 he was commissioned to work on the Turramurra home and took the time to speak to Ken Woolley about the extension beforehand.

Woolley was supportive of the plan to add two "modules". Working closely with the owners, Sam developed a design that would give the owners the space they need by using P&S's inherent modular principles. It would respect the original house and provide some special surprises.

One module was added by changing the carport to a secure garage with master suite above, and the other module would be added to the Eastern side, where the block of land was wide open space. Minimal interference with the original house was achieved as only a few windows needed to be removed to join the new volumes. In Woolley's view, P&S homes were always designed to be modular. This is evident in the grid-like pattern formed by the Oregon beams. In addition, some room sizes were calculated to fit a single roll of broadloom carpet, and no clumsy joins.

Influenced by travels and taking in modernist icons from Philip Johnson's Glass House in New Canaan, to Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion and the Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, the colour and materials pallet remained minimal: glass, timber, natural stone, bagged brick, charcoal and black references and internal bedroom doors finished in their original eucalyptus colour.

During the renovation process, the home was also fully insulated and internally re-skinned, with restored or replaced timber trims and fresh drywall, while the family gained a larger kitchen to overlook the outdoor space and pool, two bedrooms and cedar sashless windows throughout. The two new modules were clad in exterior hardwood, using an Australian panelling product made from 97% hardwood and 3% wax. As a nod to the original cedar vertical panels, it softens the external bagged white brick.

Now, as you enter the house, the space opens up unexpectedly. The kitchen is revealed on one wing along with the upper family room up the stairs. Pocket doors provide privacy, floor to ceiling windows mimic the original P&S design language. Though to the bedroom wing, now a quiet zone with the old kitchen removed, the space moves around to another hidden passage and staircase to the upper master suite and bathroom. From the rear view, the house reveals its new scale while several peekaboo windows are inserted into surprise spots, delineating the old and contemporary areas.