Hopscotch House / JOHN ELLWAY. ARCHITECT

closed

Having a backyard to the south meant the adjacent former living areas were cold in winter. The key move was to stretch the plan down into the backyard to the maximum allowed 25m. The cottage was largely untouched to manage costs. The built area of the addition was minimized by inserting a series of garden courtyards between the cottage and each of the new living spaces. The five gardens give each adjacent room a northerly aspect to capture sun, breeze, and light. Walls, roofs, and openings are assembled as repeating kit-of-parts designed to mediate weather throughout the year. Wall-sized openings of solid shutters manage airflow and rain. This solid is offset by fixed glazing above, which lets light and shadow play across the timber-clad ceiling and rendered block walls throughout the day.Construction materials are raw, making the addition feel more like an external space. Block walls are rendered internally and protect the rooms from early morning and late afternoon sun. Externally, corrugated sheet extends down the walls. Vine-covered mesh softens and adds another layer of weather protection. A brick floor extends through the addition stepping to link the slightly elevated timber cottage back to the garden and out into the dining courtyard. This central hallway allows diagonal views between living spaces and sets up a circulation spine between old and new. At the end of the hallway, through the former front door of the cottage, sits the ‘neighborhood garden’ adjacent to the footpath. It serves an important social function. Elevated above the footpath, you can sit, read a book, or look out and engage with neighbors and the groups of school kids that pass by.Text description provided by the architects.Hopscotch House is located close to the top of a ridge dubbed Woolloongabba‘ Heights’. Home to many young families, the pre-war estate of character housing sits between a motorway to the east and an inner-city hospital precinct to the west. Each morning, children leave their homes and join an ever-growing procession of kids and parents walking along the ridge toward the local school. Two join from this household. The name captures the idea of a home that encourages play and movement. Places for games, places to hide, places to discover, and places to escape. It also references the physical manifestation of the house in the plan.Collaborating with a landscape architect, planting has been chosen to add another layer of weather protection in each courtyard. Each is particular to the adjacent room. The entry courtyard contains a flowering tree as a welcoming arrival. It is located to the rear of the existing house to bypass private bedroom spaces. Adjacent to the kitchen sits a garden intended for productive planting. The dining area opens to a courtyard filled with a large olive tree, managing the western aspect.  The lounge, kitchen, and dining rooms share a secure garden containing a large collection of plants the owners have cultivated over time. Enclosed with mesh, the shutters can be left open securely when no one is home.