It's All In The Detail
- Existing features restored and repurposed. For instance, a living room brick fireplace became part of the bathroom joinery and a brick wall became expressed as a feature wall within a new ensuite.
- Externally, the roof forms and detailing of the addition are in keeping with those of the existing.
- Internally, however, traditional flat ceilings have been eschewed in favour of raked ceilings that elevate the interior.
- The central courtyard, which is now the literal and figurative heart of the house, provides a landscaped respite visible from most areas.
- Spaces have been tailor-made to the requirements of the inhabitants, from the provision of a home office and a loft ‘man-cave’ for the owners down to a dedicated washing area within the courtyard for the two canine inhabitants.
- The street presentation was maintained, with the addition designed to visually recede and act as an understated backdrop to the existing cottage.
- Minimal but incisive interventions in the cottage itself open up the interior and bring much needed daylight inside, without requiring the often-expensive pitfalls associated with renovating old homes.
- The design of the addition as an almost standalone, timber-framed structure was another decision made early on to further improve the cost-effectiveness of the project.
WHAT THE ARCHITECT SAID
I was very impressed with the quality and efficiency of MATTBUILD'S work. More importantly, they have been a pleasure to work with, with prompt and excellent communication and always with the end goal of achieving the architectural design intent. In some ways they even improved upon it! I had not worked with MATTBUILD prior to this project, but now recommend them to all my clients for consideration in their projects. I look forward to working with them in the future.
