Bijl Architecture wins TIDA Australia Architect Renovation of the Year

Built in the late 1880s, the original sandstone cottage on this site had been altered and extended on all sides over time.

This included an early 20th century framed eastern wing and the brick entry foyer to the south, which had been included in the local council’s Contributory heritage listing.

The current owners wanted a contemporary, light-filled home embracing their love of art and accommodating their blended family spanning generations.

This had to be achieved despite the limitations of site’s shape and heritage restrictions on any changes that could be made.

The re-design carefully acknowledges the three key eras of construction and design seen in the home.

This led to a novel approach of unifying the various sections of the house using delicate steel lines to weave the building together, emphasising the interplay between the different structural elements.

With no opportunity to extend the existing house footprint and only minimal alterations permitted to the heritage components, the focus went on increasing the volume and height of the dining room addition from the late 1990s and making careful alterations to the similarly aged first floor addition.

Relocating the stairs within the two-storey space has transformed the home, with views to and throughout both floors now made possible.

The new floorplan made best use of the available footprint, while retention and refurbishment of the original sandstone, and a palette of simple materials has created a minimalist backdrop to the artworks and furnishings.

The work also included rebuilding the existing vehicle access and parking, refurbishing the existing pool, and completely overhauling the landscaping.

The TIDA judges were impressed with how the extremely difficult challenges have been addressed to unify the house – making sense of its different stages of development  and creating better connections within the home, and to its site and surrounds.

Designed by: Bijl Architecture

Story by: Trendsideas

Photography by: Tom Ferguson