Finding an inspired way to integrate the past amongst a liveable and elevated present was key for integrating a continued longevity for Towoomba. Celebrating that connection across eras sees an opening and reworking of the existing plan, enabling an alignment with a more contemporary occupation. The expansion both outward and upward then also adds additional functionality across multiple levels. Creating an ideal place for the owners and visitors to come together, the newly defined living space to the rear and the generous and moveable glazed façade encourages a spill-over into the prized landscaped garden space. As a response to the surrounding context and acknowledging its past, each new gesture is conscious of focussing on locality.

Sitting amongst other Victorian and Federation-era homes, the proposed expansion needed to respectfully acknowledge the more traditional surrounding silhouettes. While the front rooms and their character are retained, the addition is more streamlined and is contained under a skillion roof. The level above then nestles into the roof cavity of the existing. The considered integration of a long and continuous skylight to the first floor opens the main spine of the home, illuminating the interior and as a result, lessening a reliance on outside energy for lighting. This conscientious underpinning is interpreted in several ways throughout, ensuring both light and air can freely move through the spaces, allowing the home to breathe. With life in Sydney known for being outdoor focussed, this operability for everyday comfort, was vital.

The select materiality throughout plays a pivotal role in shaping as a recognition of passed time. Opting for a minimal approach to the external cladding, a restrained overall palette is used internally to form a foundation for the years to come. While mostly monochromatic, the moments where colour has been introduced brings a welcomed animation in the process, ensuring each occasion as its own expressive moment. Contrasting gestures are combined with the warmth of blackbutt timber as flooring underfoot, adding a textural and natural connection. In a more playful way, the bathrooms become their own destinations where coloured terrazzo, brass tapware, and reeded glass further imbed the new elements in a grounding of craft.

Reflecting the dynamic needs of a growing family and for flexibility for the years to come, Towoomba is reworked from the inside out, allowing for an opening and closing of spaces as needed. With enhanced integrations between inside and out, and across the bounding exterior thresholds, the natural elements become a core part of the lived experience of the home. Allowing for moments of coming together, and those of more intimate retreat, a balancing of scale, tactility and lightness ensures this latest iteration as a resilient and low maintenance preparation for the coming years.