Elsternwick House 2

“There were many challenges in the brief we gave to Gary. We wanted a contemporary house in a heritage area. We also wanted a house that would be easily accessible for older and disabled persons. The land is narrow and slopes to the rear. Gary worked collaboratively with us on the design; he listened and constructively resolved the many issues that confronted us. The Council provided very few guidelines in relation to these requirements, but Gary was able to work through the impediments and obtain the approvals. We wanted a modern house that would stand as an equal to the historic 1880’s terraces around us. The appearance of the house needed to be in proportion with the adjacent double story victorian terrace. This was achieved through clever and nuanced design elements that elongated the façade, and was then absorbed into the rest of the house through interesting ceiling and room configurations. The hallways and rooms needed to accommodate possible future wheelchairs. So, all spaces are sufficiently wide and internal steps have been replaced with ramps. The use of internal gardens, both downstairs and upstairs, plus the liberal inclusion of skylights provide wonderful light and ventilation. An important feature is a large basement that has the laundry, a great deal of storage and work area, and all of the services such as hydronic heating, hot water, pumps, solar inverters and future batteries and the lift that moves through each of the three levels. Gary has achieved an outcome with which we are extremely pleased and he can feel justifiable proud of.”