Preston Lane Architects, led by Daniel Lane and Nathanael Preston, designed a single storey rear extension to an existing post war bungalow in Elsternwick, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east of Melbourne’s Central Business District.
The main challenge this project presented the design team at Preston Lane Architects was creating a strong design concept around a poor previous extension.
The faced that tricky juggle of how to design something new that complements both the amazing original house and a poor prior extension.
The client’s brief was to restore the original post war bungalow and partly demolish the poorly designed 1980’s extension.
The extension was dark and had no connection to the garden.
A light filled contemporary extension that opened to the backyard and existing pool was proposed, incorporating the existing structure where possible.
The key concept that Preston Lane Architects proposed was to create an extension that utilised as much of the existing extension building fabric as possible due to the project budget.
To the end, the existing rear extension’s northern and southern walls were retained and slightly modified.
This provided a surface that was then rendered both outside and inside with a concrete finish that clearly differentiated this section of the house from the original house.
This thick wall provided a buffer to Parnell Street. The wall was punctuated with a steel-framed northern-oriented window seat with a large opening window for ventilation.
A decorative breeze block wall was located between the living and dining space to create spatial separation. The breeze block wall, which subtly references the timber detailing patterns from the existing hallway, filters light and sight lines between the kitchen-dining and family room.
Its position orientates the view towards the backyard when entering the space from the entry hallway, yet provides transparency when looking across the space from the kitchen.
The house is zoned with large sliding panels. A spine of American Oak joinery wrapping the kitchen creates a datum that slides under the lower ceiling of the living room.
The Preston Lane Architects design changed the way the clients use the house, especially the rear garden and existing pool. The garden is now a part of everyday life and experienced from within the house rather than two very separate spaces.
The renovated master bedroom and its walk-in robe and luxurious ensuite provided a separate space for the parents to retreat.
And the light filled spaces of the new extension provide a contrast to the dark existing rooms.
The project was deemed a successful integration of old and new within a modest budget managed by Michael Filippone of Filippone Constructions, who offered really clever ways to amend the design here and there to minimize project spend.
Bottom line?
The client’s investment in thoughtful, considered, and clever design delivered a substantial value-add to their Elsternwick property.
Project Details
Project size – 282 m2
Site area – 698 m2
Completion date – 2018
Building levels – 2
Project Team
Architecture
Preston Lane Architects
Preston Lane Architects is an award winning architectural practice focused on providing innovative and successful design solutions that are responsive to both our client’s needs and the environment. They have an appetite for design and strongly believe that high quality design outcomes add value.
Photography
Derek Swalwell
Derek is an architectural and editorial photographer from Melbourne, Australia. His name is synonymous with the photographic representation of the architectural landscape in Australia and beyond.
Having crossed the globe numerous times since starting out on his photographic journey over twenty years ago, Derek’s work documents some of the world’s most iconic built environments and visually articulates them in an entirely unique light.
For the past two decades, Derek’s commercial, editorial, fine art and lifestyle images have appeared in such notable design publications as Vogue Living, Habitus and Est Living, and in various international design stalwarts such as Wallpaper and Dezeen. His work resonates in both digital and print form and across numerous platforms ranging from online to large format art prints.
Having held numerous exhibitions of his diverse international collections, Derek’s photographic ensemble depicts a passionate and profound understanding of the technical and creative facets of the photographic profession.
Photo Gallery
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Design © 2020 Preston Lane Architects. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Derek Swalwell. All Rights Reserved.
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