1. Tech Indulgent Technological innovations that are redefining your living
RS 100 HOME-REVIEW.COMvol 15 issue 10 October 2016 total pages 134
MINDFUL
MISTAKESBusride Studio’s Folly House
Design Destination : GuangZhouSpecialist : PoppadumArt Uncovered : r+d Studio
Stories in Detail
by Komal Vasa
loc Design Takes
the law into their hands

2. Home Review October 2016 117Home Review October 2016 117
GREEN
PROJECT
Green And
Chic
Preserving old structures and
merely adding on to them may
well be cost conscious and site
conservative, but is somehow
always considered boring –
here an award winning project
admirably demonstrates it need
not be so at all!
Sliding and pivoting door systems helped introduce a better connect between the interior and the exterior spaces.
Text By Kanupriya Pachisia
Photographs Courtesy Carterwilliamson
Architects

3. 118 Home Review October 2016118 Home Review October 2016
In the Sydney-fringe suburb of Glebe,
a late 19th century cowshed is reworked
upon by Carterwilliamson Architects in a
poetic marriage of old and new. Located
on a small parcel of land, skirted on three
sides by roads, this brick-based building
is a perfect celebration of restrained and
rustically simple architecture that speaks
volumes for itself. Principal architect,
Shaun Carter shares, “The opportunity to
remake a house on a corner site is rare
in older urban areas. It seemed like the
perfect site and along with that came clients
with a wonderful spirit and desire to push
conventional boundaries.”
“Build it once and only once,” says Shaun, meaning the structural envelope should ideally not be clad or dressed in any way.
Ground floor plan

4. Home Review October 2016 119Home Review October 2016 119
Fabricated from sustainable timber, the windows not only open out on a clear
conscious as they are sourced from a ‘sustainable forest’, but also return to
nature by preventing ecological damage.
Although the building came with council
approved plans for substantial renovation,
the owners were in love with the property’s
existing modest footprint. They felt it was
more or less ‘spot-on’ in terms of site usage
and orientation and wanted to preserve
the integrity of the unusual dwelling while
making it more habitable and better suited
to their growing family. The clients loved
the sense of protection and privacy that
was supplied by the walled boundary and
the charm of suntraps in certain rooms.
The client’s brief although based on tight
budgets, was well adhered to. “The spaces
are truly open plan, each room is connected
to the other and to the sunny, green
courtyard that acts as a natural extension of
the living spaces,” shares Shaun.
A larger entry was introduced at street level,
featuring a pivoting red painted timber
door that opened into the main courtyard.
The southern wing was widened by three
to four metres to better accommodate the
living, dining and kitchen at the ground level
with the bedroom mezzanine capping the
kitchen above.
The more private eastern wing, housed
two bedrooms, study and the bathrooms.
The bathroom continued on a red and
white scheme while LED lights helped
curb energy use. The kids’ bedroom replete
with requisite hammocks was tucked into
the return of the ‘L’ shaped plan, with a
vivid red bathroom at the fulcrum which
gave a due nod to the clients’ proud
Venezuelan heritage.
“It is the honesty of the materials used
throughout that provides much of the
inherent decoration,” explains Shaun.
“Build it once and only once,” he says,
meaning the structural envelope should
ideally not be clad or dressed in any way.
Wherever possible the existing building
fabric of the original shed was preserved
making it take its first steps in the right
direction towards green architecture.
Whatever was rebuilt carries the spirit of
the cowshed composed from a palette of
simple and robust materials. The concrete
slabs on the floor, polished and left unclad
not only rendered a perfect synergy of
beauty, sustainability and economy but also
resulted in a durable and low maintenance
floor. Made of sustainable materials itself,
the concrete floor acted as a thermal sink,
regulating temperatures indoors. Retaining
the long brick wall, helped provide acoustic
and thermal comfort.
The concrete slabs on the floor, polished and left unclad not only rendered
a perfect synergy of beauty, sustainability and economy but also resulted in
a durable and low maintenance floor.

5. 120 Home Review October 2016120 Home Review October 2016
Made of sustainable materials itself, the concrete floor acted as a thermal sink,
regulating temperatures indoors.
Retaining the long brick wall helped provide acoustic
and thermal comfort.
Using recycled bricks wherever required
provided a finish to the interiors and also
helped maintain the quality of air inside as it
eliminated the use of paints and other toxic
finishes while also preventing a food source
for moulds.
Generously scaled Windoor Western red
cedar-framed awning windows, sliding and
pivoting door systems helped introduce a
better connect between the interior and
the exterior spaces. They also provided for
yet another simple yet sustainable fix to the
green context of the architecture worked
upon. Fabricated from sustainable
timber, the windows not only open out
on a clear conscious as they are sourced
from a ‘sustainable forest’, but also
nurture nature by preventing
ecological damage.
The cowshed sat under a huge jacaranda
tree whose leaves and blooms blocked
gutters and flooded the house inside during
rains. In response, an undulating metallic
roofline was laid over the brick perimeter
of walls in a serpentine-like gesture
that took care of the problem and also
encapsulated the adventurous vision of
the project.
A ribbon of high clerestory windows capture
light and breeze as they wrap up the
building and rise with the roofline allowing
the home to feel bright but private, despite
its dense urban context.

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A larger entry was introduced at street level, featuring a pivoting red painted timber door that opened into the main courtyard.
The shed complete with a worn patina
of stories is well situated and hugs the
southern boundaries with provision for
a private, north facing courtyard. Matilda
grass used as turf for courtyards, proved
to be another green initiative adopted by
the architectural team. Its softness, wear
tolerant and disease resistant qualities
made it a perfect child friendly option for
the family to use. Hints of the Australian
vernacular are kept alive as the old and
the new comingle to define a new
architectural language.
mail@carterwilliamson.com
www.carterwilliamson.com