Architect Emily Sandstrom and Chris Low endured an extended search earlier than they stumbled upon a Nineteen Thirties home in South Marrickville. They’d been on the lookout for an older property they might personalise and ‘carry again to life’ – it additionally needed to have the house and side to develop recent produce in their very own yard.
So, after they discovered a dated bungalow that ticked all these packing containers, they weren’t deterred by its lack of scorching water within the kitchen, or the sunroom stuffed with asbestos.
‘Whereas the home was rundown, there have been so many unique options that we cherished — the stained-glass home windows, the ceiling particulars, the darkish timber detailing, the dimensions of the rooms, and we actually needed to protect the historical past and integrity of the home,’ Emily says.
They demolished the small kitchen, laundry, the asbestos sunroom, and the outhouse on the rear. A key a part of their renovations was salvaging recycled supplies from something they knocked down, even going to the hassle of hand-cleaning the bricks and constructing them into their new 45sqm extension.
It’s no secret that getting an older property to fulfill the environmental issues of at the moment is huge ask. However along with minimising waste by restoring the unique components of the house, Emily and Chris’ considerate renovations have additionally managed to equip the bungalow for the long run with a formidable record of sustainable options.
The refreshed house runs off solar energy and is passively designed with concrete flooring and double-glazed home windows to eradicate the necessity for heating or cooling. It additionally operates off a 7000L water tank, and according to the couple’s imaginative and prescient, they created a productive backyard made up of just about solely edible vegetation. There’s even a outstanding wine cupboard, which is cooled with out electrical energy, ‘utilizing cross stream of air directed underground via a system of pipes that cools the cupboard to 16 levels’!
Chris is a chef by commerce, so creating areas for cooking, and entertaining was one other central level of their dream house. Because of this, the U-shaped extension has been designed to champion the backyard views, with the kitchen extending into the plush outside house.
‘General, the design is ethereal and lightweight, and leans to components of hospitality design within the rear, whereas being extra relaxed and cosy within the unique house,’ Emily provides.
‘We designed joinery that preserved all of the skirting, image rail and ceiling particulars, in addition to the sense of scale and conventional structure of the rooms. We hope that we’ve positively impacted the unique house and website so that it’ll have a life past our time there.’
