Victorian townhouse receives functional family addition

Architect: Drawing Room ArchitecturePhotography by Dan Fuge

From the architect: The clients, a young family, were after a modest addition to their Victorian townhouse to house a new kitchen, dining room, bathroom, laundry & a large storage shed for their many bikes.

The addition would front their garden & get all day sun so would effectively be the space the family would spend a lot of time in.

It needed to be open to the garden, light & sunny as a space as well as space efficient & very functional..

A white, copper & timber palette was selected & the space was planned to make maximum use of minimal space.

What did we as architects learn from this project?

That small space can be highly liveable if planned right with loads of storage built in & large openings to daylight & garden expanse.

Also that small space doesn't equal small budget necessarily, the same amount of contractors are needed, its just in creating a smaller space so cost-saving needs to be done through smart material selection & simple building details.

What are the sustainability features?

It is a highly efficient space, the family lives & functions in this tiny space happily. This is due to the extent of glazing & openings to the garden, giving the feeling of expansive space. It is oriented to receive maximum daylight & warmth for winter with external blinds to block out summer heat. Every pragmatic element is also a design element through the use of materials, form, shapes, so there is no need for added or 'feature' elements.

There is a drip rack installed in cupboards above the sink so dishes can be washed & stored out of sight behind cupboard doors, ready for easy use later.

Story by: Trends