In merging the classic elegance of the existing home with modern simplicity, we have realized the client's vision, creating a residence that harmoniously blends the two. The minimalistic external color palette, paired with raw textures, accentuates the features, form, and texture of the traditional Californian Bungalow, allowing the contemporary architectural elements to shine
The design ensures a seamless flow from the front to the rear living area. The centrally positioned kitchen opens out into the rear yard, with a strategically placed pizza oven in the main living area, away from the bedrooms. The living space features a cantilevered indoor/outdoor concrete bench seat, referencing the floating roof form. This bench allows occupants to enjoy the sun while providing wood storage for the open fire and pizza oven. The use of contrasting tones and textures is emphasized by the red brick column in the glazed north facade, which structurally supports the roof and conceals the built-in pizza oven. The courtyard, once the garden is established, will offer natural dappled light throughout the open space.
The front facade, with its restrained white palette, highlights the shadow lines and lets the traditional materials and details take center stage. In contrast, the rear features a dramatic box form, extending the living area to maximize natural northern light. A robust, raw, and durable color palette connects this modern extension to the existing red brick and terracotta tile.Inside, features like European oak joinery soften the raw materials such as concrete, brickwork, and metal cladding, creating continuity with the existing parts of the house, seen in the matching European oak floorboards.
– Architecture & Interiors
DESIGN BY AD
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The north-facing facade ensures an abundance of natural light, filtered by existing mature trees and a substantial 1500mm roof overhang. The thermal mass of the exposed ground floor slab, combined with appropriate insulation levels, brick veneer construction, and double glazing, helps regulate the internal environment year-round. Heat gain is controlled by double-glazed windows, and all areas benefit from operable windows and pivot doors, enabling cross ventilation. During cooler periods, the space is warmed by a hydronic heating system integrated into the exposed concrete slab.
