On old Salvation Army hall has been transformed into luxury apartments. Domain takes a tour.
Sydney architect Luigi Rosselli uses words like “sensitive”, “sympathetic”, “subtle” and “synergy” when talking about transforming period or heritage houses.
That’s because modern architecture tends to plonk big, harsh-looking glass and steel boxes onto the end of historic residences. “It’s like day and night contrasting old and new,” he bemoans.
In any update, Rosselli argues it’s vital that new work, whether an alteration or addition, not overawe the existing house. Rather, balance is needed, where new contemporary elements “fit the language and style of the original building”.
Sold this month by Ben Collier of The Agency, this neo-Georgian home at 365 Edgecliff Road, Woollahra, was renovated from top to bottom. Photo: Supplied
Similarly, Melbourne’s Austin Maynard Architects baulked at the brief “to tack” a mammoth modernist box onto a 1930s weatherboard. Instead, a brilliantly conceived series of village-like buildings provided an identical amount of room, while serving all the needs of the owners’ young family.
“I try to avoid the tumour, where people extend a heritage home with something that looks like it has grown out of its back,” says principal Andrew Maynard. “Making clear what’s old and new is fundamental to good heritage work.”
Isolating time periods helps tell a story, but it also allows for reversibility, enabling future generations to renew the property without destroying the heritage.
Melbourne architect Matt Gibson employs “soft bu er zones” to demarcate new fabric from old. In one Edwardian project, which won an Australian Institute of Architects heritage award, Gibson created a lightwell to do the job.
Floors and mouldings were retained at 365 Edgecliff Road, Woollahra, but the kitchen and informal dining room were repositioned.
Photo: Supplied
In another project, up for a heritage award, “light, languageless” canopies abutted the exposed brickwork of the Victorian mansion, forming two distinct yet connected pavilions.
- Related: The Australian ‘granny flat’ has a glamorous new face
- Related: Renovating a period home for resale
- Related: What I learnt from 110 renovations
Likewise, Rosselli designed a wraparound pool in a Randwick project to tie the historic 1910 cottage to a contemporary two-storey addition. “It doesn’t distract from the front,” Rosselli says.
The Ray White Double Bay listing at 49 Roslyn Street, Rushcutters Bay now has a customised Poliform kitchen.
Photo: Supplied
In Alfred House, also up for an award, Maynard separated the addition from the Victorian terrace with a central courtyard, doubling as a lightwell.
“A sensationally renovated period home creates a buzz and foot traffic,” says Richard Winneke, director of Melbourne real estate agency Jellis Craig. “Which usually produces excellent results.”
After the refurbishment, the front rooms at Rushcutters Bay are structurally as they were, with generously proportioned high ceilings. Photo: Supplied
Usually architects consult heritage architects or conservation experts. “We try and gather as much as we can on the site and building before we do anything,” Gibson explains. Sometimes, the analysis extends to entire neighbourhoods.
Architects also must adhere to the various dos and don’ts that govern heritage-listed houses or heritage conservation areas, also known as heritage overlays.
Heritage architect Michael Stewart renovated the 1930s Queenslander at 23 Welwyn Crescent, Coorparoo. Photo: Supplied
Often, it boils down to controls preserving the property or suburb’s link to the past. Commonly, front facades and room structures are maintained. Sometimes rooms are opened up.
Gibson says respecting history — whether it’s property, place or people who lived there — also inspires the new work. The best architects restore the heritage to its original design, albeit in a contemporary fashion.
Original elements can be borrowed — perhaps a roofline, decorative feature or materials. But all read in a modern way
Additions at the Coorparoo residence include a deck at the rear, taking advantage of panoramic city views.
Photo: Supplied
Brisbane architect Stuart Vokes, of Vokes and Peters, reinterprets the carpentry tradition of the Queenslander, mid-1880s-late1930s.
“We started tuning our sensibilities to this tradition, developing a language for making shelving, cabinetry and decorative features,” he says.
Moreover, Vokes argues it’s also important how the plan is re-occupied. For example, he avoids “stifling” original rooms with en suites and walk-in wardrobes.
He’s also mindful of how the interior relates to the outdoors, keeping the impact on gardens to a minimum. Too often, he believes, architects are “overly aspirational”, trying to mimic design heroes, while ignoring the city’s low-density, timber-and-tin, garden-driven character.
“Conservation of cultural artefact isn’t about nostalgia or the past. It defines cultural values and behaviours of the future, ” says Vokes.
Built in 1910, a charming neo-Georgian two-storey house in Sydney’s leafy inner-east was renovated from top to bottom after being let go for many decades.
Like many period reboots, the original structure at 365 Edgecliff Road, Woollahra, was sound, blessed by high ceilings and spacious rooms. The interior needed only a cosmetic facelift and redecoration.
Floors, mouldings and other period detailing were retained. But also, like most heritage revamps, the house was opened up and extended to meet the needs of modern family.
This included living areas, which opened onto an architect-designed courtyard garden. An enclosed balcony and bathroom were transformed into a fifth bedroom and en suite. More recently, the kitchen and informal dining room have been repositioned.
Download the Domain App to search for period-era homes in a city near you.
