Backyard Blitz

On an inner suburban site west of the city of Adelaide, a single-storey villa is extended and transformed into an environmentally friendly family home. The original house was modestly renovated in the 90’s, with a new bathroom and laundry unfortunately separating the kitchen from the back yard. The sensitive new addition places the kitchen and living room deeper in the block, with direct connection to the yard via large sliding doors and high-level windows facing north-east beneath an expressed timber structure. A second bathroom is added adjacent the laundry to cater for their growing family.

The crafty design makes the most the existing built fabric, recycling and upgrading instead of knocking down, with textural references continuing the theme of the previous renovations. With excellent passive cooling via cross ventilation and thermal mass in the polished concrete floor and insulated double brick the new home minimises the need for airconditioning.