Backyard Bustle

A modest extension for a family home, the design provides a new living area and a main bedroom suite to the rear of the existing house.  With the aim of maximising sunlight and maintaining children’s play spaces, the extension occupies underused space to the south.  The spaces are designed to hide away utility areas and zone living areas for flexibility of family use. 

Carbon reduction has been achieved by retaining the existing house and creating an efficient floor plan.  The timber framed wall and roof structure embodies carbon, while the concrete floor slab provides thermal mass to keep the house naturally warm and cosy in winter.  Future-proofing measures, such as a PV array, EV charging point and water tanks, are utilised so the occupants can lighten their carbon footprint and take advantage of renewable home energy systems.

The elegant pavilion creates a sunny north-facing courtyard with access to the garden.  The lightweight construction references a contemporary Australian aesthetic in contrast to the existing brick veneer house. While not designated heritage, this approach to ‘marking time’ between the original and new structures retains and celebrates a rapidly vanishing Canberra vernacular house form. The layers of history contribute to a rich urban environment that remembers the past while looking to the future.