Surfview House is the redevelopment of a 1950’s post war brick house located on a 700m2 suburban allotment.
Whilst the existing home exhibited good architectural qualities it was in need of refurbishment and expansion to meet the Client's growing needs. Furthermore the Client had a desire to provide a stronger connection with the rear yard which was hampered by poorly sited existing additions.
The design strategy began with the removal of these restrictive elements to enable a stronger relationship with the site's outdoor spaces - the key objective being to make the enjoyment of the garden central to the experience of the house. Whilst the original home was retained, the remaining site was reorganised to respond to this objective and allow the site to be used to its full potential.
The principal move was the establishment of a north facing living space with direct connection to the garden. This was achieved by structuring the building program as a ‘U’ shaped collection of living accommodation grouped around the primary outdoor living space with bedrooms accommodated in the retained portion of the original dwelling at the front of the site. Whilst the original home retains its street address, the newly formed compound of courtyard buildings at the rear sets up an evenly weighted series of indoor and outdoor spaces for contemporary living. The strategy creates a flexible ‘family’ green space at the centre of the site with an offset secondary utilitarian green space as vegetable garden, clothes drying area, bin storage, and underground water storage.
Specific sustainability measures include the retention of the original building fabric, creation of an optimally oriented living space to maximise passive thermal performance, a 30,000L underground rainwater storage tank, grey water re-use for irrigation, evacuated tube solar hot water heating for hot water supply, hydronic underfloor and central heating, and photovoltaic solar panels connected back to grid. Additionally, the garage has a green roof to minimise both reflected and absorbed heat and further integrates the house into its leafy suburban site.
