Leam Road, Hillwood.
In consideration of the design brief we understood we had a challenging design on our hands.
The area has an existing deck that is crammed between two main pavilions and is enclosed on three sides. These three sides also have three different roof lines. In layman’s terms “There’s a lot going on”. We yearned for an outcome that was architecturally significant, functional but not dominating the space. We achieved this by splitting the roof line and incorporating a clerestory wedge of glass toward the front of the room, this was to give the room its own identity. The main roof gently slopes to a newly formed box gutter. This roof includes two Velux skylights that are operable and also include built in remote blinds; perfect to release the hot air and provide shade when required. A large quadruple action sliding door enables over half of the front wall to be open to the elements and the sliding door incorporates a hidden slide away flyscreen to keep Tassie’s pests out.
A large picture window allows uninterrupted views to the beautiful garden when reclining on the well positioned sofa. The ceiling features a striking display of Western Red Cedar battens that highlight the angles of the roof and walls, but also gives off an earthy scented aroma. Colorbond “Monument” was used to allow the new space to recede into its new surroundings. The floor tiles allow some thermal mass to store the warmth from the winter sun and the new sunroom to become a winter heat bank for the existing building.
During the build of this very small project we were taken back by the amount of times we heard tradesman say “This cannot be done” or “I’ve never done that before”. We agree somewhat that this project although very small does contain complex geometry that is not found in many other larger projects. We found great satisfaction in overcoming many design challenges ourselves and even more so seeing our sub-contractors expand their knowledge to overcome their challenges.
Our clients now have a room that they can use all year round. A room that enhances the existing dwelling and makes sense of the area. This little project we have nicknamed ‘X2’ holds a special place with us and we have valued the knowledge we have gained throughout the process.
Testimonial.
“..We have this lovely area but it’s too hot in summer and too cold in winter to use. We would like this to be an area we can use all year round. It must be sympathetic to the existing dwelling and not overpower its form. Must have the ability to adapt to any weather conditions…”
