01
01 A two-storey
extension at the rear
of the site adds a solid,
weatherboard form
hovering above a level
of full-height glazing.
Winscombe
EXTENSION
by Preston Lane
Architects
• HOB A RT, TA S •
This renovation takes advantage of
open-plan living, while still defining and
containing different zones and offering
a new connection to the backyard.
Words by Judith Abell
Photography by Derek Swalwell
O
ver the past ten years of reviewing houses, I have observed
changes in the emphases of client briefs and the architectural
response. Open-plan living has been adapted to contemporary
life, easing out some of the difficulties inherent in this form,
re-engaging with the qualities of a room and continually renegotiating
a relationship with home technology. Spaces such as kitchens have
increasingly become served rather than servant spaces and there is a
renewed level of engagement with the immediate external environment, particularly in homes designed for families with young
children. Winscombe Extension by Preston Lane Architects reflects
a number of these shifts. When I spoke with director Daniel Lane
about the project, he noted that today’s clients are also asking for
less space, but wanting it to do more.
Winscombe Extension, tucked into the hill of Tasmania’s Lower
Sandy Bay, is home to a couple and their three young children. The
family bought the Californian brick bungalow over three years ago
082 HOUSES • ISSUE 103
HOUSES • ISSUE 103 083
02
02 The stairs are the key
spatial device that
connects and divides
each component of
the house. Artwork:
Natalie Puantulura.
Section 1:400
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
9
2
10
Entry
Bedroom
Bathroom
Laundry
Living
Kitchen/dining
Scullery
Deck
Main bedroom
Sitting/study
Playroom
First floor 1:400
2
3
5
11
1
2
2
4
8
7
Ground floor 1:400
6
0
and spent the first year and a half renovating much of the existing
building and landscaping the backyard. When Preston Lane
Architects came on board, this preparatory work had effectively left
a north-facing, three-dimensional slice of space at the back of the
house, between the rear brick wall and the newly planted garden.
The clients had also established a very distinct aesthetic, which was
characterized by white-on-white, with black accents, against the
texture of natural materials such as clear-finished timber.
Taking cues from the “weight” of the existing brick house,
the architects developed a two-storey extension that adds a solid,
weatherboard form to the upper level and a visually lighter lower
floor, defined by fixed and sliding full-height glazing, which places
the occupant within the garden. The upper floor, which captures
slices of view to the Derwent River and framed views back to Mount
Wellington, gives the home a main bedroom with an ensuite, a
nursery and a study, while the garden level has a new kitchen with
a scullery and a living room. A small laundry is spliced into the
extension at the same level as the existing house.
084 HOUSES • ISSUE 103
6m
The stairs are the key spatial device that connects and divides
each component of the program. A generous landing at the existing
floor level is open to the kitchen, separated by a glass balustrade. The
kitchen bench matches the landing height in a clever piece of detail
manipulation. This configuration allows occupants of the kitchen
to look through to the existing house, particularly the playroom, in
addition to seeing into the new living space. Equally, anyone on the
landing can view all spaces, old and new. The stair itself offers a solid
divider between the kitchen and living room, so that each space offers
a sense of enclosure, or the qualities of a room. A scullery removes
the tangle of appliances from the kitchen, allowing it to be more
aesthetically clean and effectively served.
Deep, angled reveals surrounding the glazing on the upper
level are crucial to the aesthetic balance of the rear elevation and
the orientation of the occupant. Daniel felt that this type of detail
was required to amplify the intended weight of the upper floor and
balance the undercut of the garden level. While the upper floor is clad
in white-painted weatherboards, the bold reveals are skinned with
HOUSES • ISSUE 103 085
03
05
03 A landing at the existing
floor level matches the
height of the kitchen
bench, allowing views
through to the living
area. Artwork: Sophie
Burbury.
04
04 A recycled-brick wall in
the dining/kitchen area
breaks up the neutral
interior palette. Artwork:
Natalie Puantulura.
lightly stained Western red cedar. This move offers a distinctive
graphic for the northern facade while framing the view from
within the upper floor and offering the occupant some privacy.
A kick in the line of this facade is the final strategic move on this
elevation, creating the impression that each of the two spaces on
the garden level claims its own piece of garden.
While the palette is neutral within the new spaces, certain
materials are used as features. The cupboards in the kitchen
and bathroom are constructed from repurposed flooring timber,
taken from the rear lean-to, with nail holes filled and aligned in a
rhythm along the fronts. Bricks from the rear wall of the existing
house have become a textured wall and backdrop in the kitchen,
with a smattering of paint left across their faces.
The clients want their children to grow up spending plenty
086 HOUSES • ISSUE 103
05 The cupboards in the
kitchen are made from
repurposed flooring
timber. Artwork (L-R):
Katarina Vesterberg;
Sophie Burbury;
Emily Ferretti.
of time outdoors and the extension opens the house to this
possibility. From the moment you enter the body of the home,
you look through to a thin slice of the lush green backyard, with
the full view opening up at the landing that sits between old and
new. One of the clients notes that while she had concerns that the
new living spaces might be too small, in occupying the finished
building she has been pleasantly surprised by the way the garden
becomes part of the lower floor, expanding the sense of space. It
seems that these changes in house design could offer increased
richness for the home environment. This extension retains the
advantages of open-plan living in the way spaces are visually
connected through structured viewing points or via the garden,
and yet the level of enclosure allows each room to have individual
qualities and vistas.
HOUSES • ISSUE 103 087
06
06 A new bedroom on the
upper floor captures
slices of view to the
Derwent River and back
to Mount Wellington.
Architect
Preston Lane Architects
45 Goulburn Street
Hobart Tas 7000
+61 3 6231 2923
[email protected]
prestonlane.com.au
Practice profile
A young collaborative
practice based in Hobart and
Melbourne specializing in
residential and commercial
architecture.
Project team
Daniel Lane, Nathanael
Preston, Justin Hanlon,
Garth Ancher
Builder
Mark Young
088 HOUSES • ISSUE 103
Consultants
Engineer: Burbury
Consulting
Interior designer: Preston
Lane Architects with Sophie
Burbury
Products
Roofing: Lysaght Klip-Lok
406 roof cladding
External walls: James
Hardie Scyon Linea cladding;
Western red cedar from
Tilling Timber; salvaged
bricks
Internal walls: Boral
plasterboard; salvaged bricks
Windows: Tasmanian oak
frames in painted finish;
Capral 425 Narrowline
glazing system in anodized
aluminium finish
Doors: Custom Tasmanian
oak doors on Capral 1030
tracks in lime wash finish;
MDF-lined doors on Centor
tracks in painted finish
Flooring: Burnished
concrete; Tasmanian oak in
satin finish
Lighting: Emac & Lawton
Lighting pendant; Fagerhult
Gaudi Linear fluorescent;
Artemide Square Wall light;
Ligman Gino wall light
Kitchen: Miele oven; AEG
dishwasher; Franke sink
Bathroom: Paco Jaanson
basin; Clearwater Formoso
bath
Floor area
832 m2 site
260 m2 floor
Time schedule
Design, documentation:
6 months
Construction:
6 months