Architecture

A Clever Reinvention Of A 1980s Brown Brick Coastal Home

This Solomon Troup Architects project is an example of how relatively small changes can have a significant impact on the functionality and liveability of a home.

The architects added only 40 square metres 1980s coastal property, but achieved a significant transformation through careful reconfiguration of existing spaces.

What was a standard brown brick home is now a serene space that embraces its adjacent parkland and is suitable for the clients’ retirement.

Written
by
Amelia Barnes
|
Photography
by

Point Lonsdale House by Solomon Troup Architects project is an example of how relatively small changes can have a significant impact on the functionality and liveability of a home.

Elements of the existing house to the east and west were retained, with reconfigured and repaired communal spaces (kitchen, dining, and living areas) in the middle.

The newly-renovated kitchen features forest green joinery, natural stone, and timber.

The greenery of the outdoors is reflected in the updated interiors.

The newly reconfigured living room.

The en suite in the new addition.

An operable spotted gum rain screen conceals the new en suite from the adjacent public parkland as required, while providing shading to the building envelope.

The new main bedroom is oriented to receive western sun and park views.

A blind can be fully opened to take in views of the garden, or closed to shield from the hot western sun.

The extension was designed as a modern interpretation of a gable roof with a sloping roofline that follows the angle of the site.

The view of the new bedroom from the garden.

The original street-facing facade was repaired, with only a glimpse of the new addition offered from the street behind mature trees.

What was a standard brown brick home is now a serene space that embraces its adjacent parkland and is suitable for the clients’ retirement.

Writer
Amelia Barnes
Photography
26th of May 2023

Solomon Troup Architects explored several options when engaged to transform this 1980s brick house in Point Lonsdale, on Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula.

The brief was to turn the well lived-in home (that previously accommodated a family of five) into a more functional space suitable for the clients’ retirement.

Complete demolition of the existing house was on the table, but the architects saw value in retaining most of the original home and adding only a modest extension.

‘Our intent for this project was to reduce the amount of construction waste created by retaining and reusing as much of the existing building fabric as possible,’ says Lachlan Troup, director of Solomon Troup Architects. ‘This was equally the most challenging but also rewarding part of the project.’

Elements of the existing house to the east and west were retained, with reconfigured and repaired communal spaces (kitchen, dining, and living areas) in between.

A 40 square metre extension (added to the side of the home, on the site’s north) contains the new main bedroom and en suite, oriented to receive western sun and park views.

The extension was designed as a modern interpretation of a gable roof with a sloping roofline that follows the angle of the site. ‘This not only creates a dynamic and interesting form but also maximises the available space within the site,’ says Lachlan.

An operable spotted gum rain screen conceals the new ensuite from the adjacent public parkland as required, while providing shading to the building envelope. A blind can also be fully opened to take in views of the garden, or closed to shield from the hot western sun.

‘I can’t imagine many other places I’d rather be than sitting in the bath looking at the sky and watching the birds fly about the garden,’ says Lachlan.

The untouched bedroom wing in the original house allows the clients’ extended family to visit on occasions, and can be closed off completely when not in use.

While much of the existing house was retained, strategies were used throughout the project to drastically reduce the amount of waste. An existing ensuite was repurposed into a new guest powder room (removing the need to cut up concrete in order to relocate an existing toilet), and a window became the opening of the new bedroom addition.

Last but not least, the original street-facing facade was repaired, with only a glimpse of the new addition offered from the street behind mature trees.

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