Over the Fence
Creative clients wanted their beach shack to evolve to suit their young family and better engage with the sunny yards. As we lived over the back fence, we knew the site well and quickly understood the dynamics of how they wanted to live. The existing house albeit tired, was a typical two-bedroom Beasley with small living spaces. The brief called for a master retreat and additional living space. With the dwelling being central on the site the challenge was to provide a connection to the yards that expanded living spaces as well as connected individual zones.
Clients wanted to celebrate the existing relaxed character and didn't want ata (formerly known as Adam Taylor Architecture) to re-invent it. They appreciated small space design and blurring space boundaries; however, separation of the master was important for a sense of sanctuary. Our response looked to sustain as much of the existing home as possible. The layout was reasonably efficient with space, subtle change being the order. Widening the living by absorbing the existing laundry and rear entry allowed a look through approach to connect front and rear yards also creating passive cross-ventilation. A newly added Eastern wing solves the spatial needs of a master retreat and extra living space. The wing positions slightly south allowing master garden views, privacy, and sun across all other living areas. Its efficient footprint was designed in harmony with its form-a monopitch roof that sweeps up to join in with the existing apex.
“Looking for an Architect or Architectural Designer is tough and it can be a giant leap of faith to entrust someone to design your vision. This felt easy with Adam and within 5 minutes we knew he was our guy to help design our renovation. Adam quickly understood our brief, who we are, and how we wanted to ultimately live in our house. This allowed him to adapt and challenge our initial ideas so that we ended up with a design that exceeded our expectations. Adam’s creative approach helped us find efficiencies throughout the design process from layout to materials which allowed us to spend our limited budget in the right areas and not compromise on the overall design. The end result is that Adam has helped us to achieve a house that has enhanced the way we live as a family. ata (formerly known as Adam Taylor Architecture) nailed our design and are good people too, we will definitely use them again — if we ever move!”
Andrew Inman