Bringing Life to a Ballarat House, by Tracy Howard, Archdesignspace

The extension itself needed to be quite compact as Jen has a small car in her back yard that we didn’t want to encroach on and I had to consider how much space we could use as well as keeping her car space. The extension itself was 32msq and 16msq for the decking. We were able to use the existing decking space for the extension so the encroachment of the decking into the yard space was minimal.

Another big aspect to the design, as the property faces true-North, was to be able to get winter sun in, but protect from the summer heat. Jen wanted to make sure the space, although small in scale, felt spacious and grand so we needed to create high ceilings in the extension, to match those in the existing dwelling. The breakthrough from the existing dwelling was to retain the original height of the doors, once removed, and walk through to the light-filled space where Jen could sit on her day bed and relax.

The external doors and highlight windows replicate the front door and internal hallway door linking the style and element from front to back. The line of sight, entering from the front door and looking through to the new space, highlights these elements.

On designing the roof-line, consideration had to be given to an enclosed wall adjoining the neighbours, sitting the new roof profile just under the existing, as well as creating high ceilings for natural light. The roof line was separated with two raked gables: a smaller one over the bathroom and laundry space, and a larger one over the majority of the new extension. Behind the external brick wall, hidden from view, is the third roof a skillion with a large tapered gutter, so the focal point is the existing brick wall that is retained. One key feature in designing the main gable was to extend the eave out 1.3m to protect the space from the summer heat, and link the two gables together. Jen questioned putting a skylight into the space, and once renders were completed, l removed the skylight. The size and heights of the external French doors, with highlight windows above, coupled with the heights of the ceilings and the placement lighting, meant the skylight was not needed. Internally, we wanted as much height in the ceilings as possible. The gable roof line, the ceilings of the bathroom and extension of the dining/sitting room were both raked with exposed beams.

One element of the design brief that Jen wanted to make sure she got right was the new bathroom. The centrepiece of this space would be her freestanding bath, purchased well before the final plans, which needed to be designed around. Jen also required that the doorway access was 1m wide for wheelchair access.

The space itself is centred with the raked ceiling window placement and the view to the external yard. The bath, being the showcase of this room, sits directly below the window. The window elements were replicated within the design to link through to the existing dwelling. The design needed to be simple yet practical, with a single, glazed screen separating the WC from the shower and direct access from the WC to the basin also allowing for a wheelchair to wheel under.

The laundry space sits directly behind the bathroom with a simple galley style to be the most functional for Jen’s requirements. Placement of a double-hung window links to the windows in the existing dwelling bedrooms. A small decking and new stairs with handrail made it safe for Jen and Daniel to use this area.

Jen and I started working on the project 2018. A few health issues put the project on hold a few times before it was completed at the end of 2019. The finished project reflected everything Jen needed and wanted in her original design brief.

Thank you to Member Tracy Howard for submitting this story about a completed project which fits this brief perfectly.

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Big Difference: Jen

We do absolutely love the extension. It captures the winter sun beautifully, so it is wonderful to sit and read on the day bed I have just inside the windows.

The house remains cool in the summertime as the extension just cuts out the summer sun so it is not exposed to the heat.

To have a modern, internal laundry compared to the previous outside one is an absolute treat and the extra bathroom is great.

The safety aspect for us oldies is wonderful. Our previous steps were hazardous and, with a nice new deck, we often eat outdoors, now.