Arthur House / Oscar Sainsbury Architects

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Text description provided by the architects.The renovation of this double-fronted Federation house uses a series of considered openings and a carefully positioned addition to maximize its size and feel through connection to outdoor spaces. The addition is seen as a single communal space for family living supplemented by smaller secondary spaces (both indoors and outdoors) such as a study, deck, and garden that all expand the central living area. This prioritizes family connection while still allowing for more private individual moments.The original brick section of the house at the front of the site, containing the bedrooms and bathrooms, maintains its solid enclosed feel. In the middle of the site, a new north-facing central deck has been constructed on floor level providing easy outdoor access from both old and new parts of the building. The new rear addition hovers above the ground plane in response to a flood overlay that flows to the nearby Birrarung (Yarra River) and prohibits building below the existing floor level. This timber and glass living pavilion opens to the surrounding landscape on three sides with the backyard reaching through a series of oversized concrete steps with double seating benches. A large sliding door adjacent to the dining table recedes completely out of sight to maximize the views across the backyard towards two large peppercorn trees at the rear of the site.The addition is designed with passive solar orientation and rainwater collection, providing excellent access to light and cross ventilation as well as encouraging active user participation to moderate openings and shading according to changes in the climate. The continuity of materials inside and out reinforces the project as a series of connected internal and external spaces.