By Alexander Symes Architect
This family home is sited on a hilly suburban street backing onto bushland and this extension is an example of affordable adaptive reuse. The original house featured a steep tiled roof over the first-floor balcony which provided protection to the internal rooms from the hot western sun. The brief was to add a covered outdoor room and re-imagine the conventional brick veneer and painted timber balcony to better suit its bush context. This economical solution utilises a western sunshade that forms an outdoor room and uses timber screens to filter the sun allowing the internal spaces to be used all year round whilst framing the beautiful views of the Georges River.
Project Team
Alexander Symes
Builder
Keith Hamilton
Photography
Alexander Symes
Alexander Symes Architect was founded in 2014 with a mission to advance sustainable architecture. The world’s climate is changing and we believe that architecture must lead the way in changing how we utilise resources to contribute to a sustainable future.
This vision for sustainable architecture is layered through all aspects of our practice and through all the stages of a project. This starts with the examination of a project brief to ensure the grounding principles of a project support a sustainable way of life. As the project takes shape, Alex deploys his depth of technical expertise to realise the project to its full potential.
Alex’s technical expertise in building physics and facade system design is built on the experience he gained working in Arup’s Building Physics and Facade Engineer teams from 2010-2014. He has hands-on experience with construction and design for manufacturing assembly (DFMA) and a passion for how buildings are put together.
Alex has specialist training in the design and delivery of passive houses which we believe offer a pathway towards exceptionally comfortable and healthy homes. Alex loves collaborating with like-minded individuals and testing the boundaries of how we can challenge the status quo to advance sustainable architecture.