Patonga House
By Fabric Architecture
This 1930s timber home, close to the Hawksbury River, wasn’t protected with any heritage controls, but the two established pine trees on the irregular-shaped site, certainly were. And while Fabric Architecture could have easily demolished the original building with its distinctive awnings and window detailing, both the owners and the architects could see merit in restoring and extending the house.
Rather than trying to mimic the past, the new first-floor wing took its design cue from the strapping on the home’s exterior cement sheeting. The new wing, which comprises the main bedroom, also includes a stone wall that encloses the garage with a Corten-steel garage door, a contrast to the lighter materials used in the past. While the original fabric has been retained, the house has been completely reworked for a couple moving from Byron Bay.
What was once a main corridor is a now a service wing that includes a guest powder room and laundry together with the stairs to the main bedroom and ensuite. The original house has also been completely updated with the inclusion of a new kitchen and a library. The latter was an important part of the brief, hence the extensive built-in bookshelves lined with the owner’s extensive collection of vintage toys. And while not obvious, there’s a secret door that appears as part of the bookshelves that leads to a new bathroom and also a separate generous walk-in pantry. The home’s finer details, such as the stone fireplace in the living room were also restored. Stone was also used for the benchtops in the new kitchen complements the high-gloss joinery.
This house now combines the best of the past with the present. There’s no ‘blurring’ of lines as to when each section was built. But it is now a fine contemporary house that allows the owners to enjoy both. And while the established pine trees create a verdant ‘fringe’, the new planter boxes on the first floor ensure a green outlook as well views to Patonga Creek beyond. Words: Stephen Crafti
Builder: BBM Constructions
Structural: PBCE Consulting
Photographer: Briged Arnott
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Patonga House
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Fabric Architecture is a contemporary design studio located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. We focus on Architecture and design - from buildings to public space, to small scale bespoke furniture design.
Fabric was founded on the belief that Architecture, no matter how large or small, is not a matter of style or trend but an ability to create social interaction and help shape an individuals experience in this world, both in the larger context right down to one’s tactile experience in their immediate surrounding environment. It is throughout this experience that perceptions are altered, building types are re-imagined and new ways of experiencing architecture realised.
We work inclusively with our clients: to work up an open brief, to imagine all possibilities, to open dialogue for collaborative problem solving and to discover methods for providing intentioned yet specific design solutions to real needs. We feel the most successful projects have both an openness and specificity, so that change may occur but the fundamental ideas remain intact. We seek to create buildings that make intuitive sense at every scale, from the holistic notions of site planning, down to the tangible experience of the touch of a material.
Our approach to Architecture in a constantly changing digital age is all inclusive; with social, practical, economical and environmental issues integrated within the design process. We consider Architecture to be a process of dialogue and we involve selected experts and consultants, across multiple disciplines, in every stage of the design process.
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