Two-way House

Two-way House is a modest renovation to a well-mannered suburban home in Riverview. The house is north-facing with regard to solar orientation but south-looking as far as views are concerned.

With minimal increase to the original footprint, new work focused on three main ambitions. The first ambition was to engage the topography of the site to be experienced in the every day use of the home.

The second ambition was to provide a generous, well sheltered outdoor area that focused on a narrow city skyline view.

We saw the challenging site orientation as an opportunity to drive the design with the goal of bringing north light inside.

The house has been re-planned, creating three separable zones – a master bedroom suite within the existing, new living at the rear and an additional level under this with further living and sleeping space.

The reworked spatial configuration is complimented by a suite of sustainability and regenerative design measures. These include double-glazing throughout, rainwater collection and an ability to close the house down into separate zones for the colder months.

The third ambition for Two-way House was to draw northern sun into the south facing living spaces in winter yet exclude direct sunshine in the hotter summer months.

Low VOC paints and sustainable, local timbers dominate the interior finishes. Plywood softs in key outdoor areas punctuate the journey from the entry through to the rear terrace and loggia.

Project: Two-way House
Type: House
Description: Three bedroom, two-storey home with granny flat
Location: Riverview, NSW
Client: Private
Year: Completed 2007
Area: 165 sqm GFA
Value: $0.39 M
Services: Sketch Design, Design Development, Construction Documentation and Contract Administration
Team: Adam Russell and Tom Tang (Vim Design)
Collaborators: Serrano Smith Consulting
Builder: Joseph Ayoub Construction
Photography: © Nick Bowers [all rights reserved]
Project code: 0607