Lawrence Street

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David Aitken Office Design.
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David Aitken Design Bathroom.

Project Description; Lawrence Street Alexandria

The project consisted of a two storey addition and renovations to a single storey late Victorian terrace, providing a house for a couple or small family plus studio.
In my scheme, the extensions form a light tower, which rises with suspended stairs, out of the main section of the house. The light tower catches the south eastern and north western skies. In the first floor bedroom there are deep French windows with external blinds, instead of a period roofed-in balcony. In the adjoining bathroom beautiful timber casement windows allow for views and filtered light to flood in. The attic studio is large and light filled. It has a glass turret and balcony that provide stunning views of the City and Newtown. Downstairs we managed to retain much of the house's original fabric and character. From the walls that were removed, we replaced the shared timber fences with recycled brick walls that now support the landscaped light-well and the rear garden.
The light tower was constructed from lightweight steel frames that were prefabricated and manhandled into place to form the external walls and a working platform for the construction of the studio above. The old roof remained in place until the studio above it was sealed.

Objectives of the Design
  1. The principle motive of the design was to develop a light tower effect, which delivered natural light to all internal spaces and provided good cross ventilation and enhanced external views
  2. The ground floor, being physically separated from the more private areas of the house, is it's social hub. It begins with a galley type kitchen which is tied in with the stairs and open plan dining and living area with a fireplace and open veranda.
  3. The rear court yard is dominated a large fireplace/pizza oven for outdoor cooking and entertaining. When not required, the rear paved area could be used for vehicle parking.
  4. The luxurious bathroom incorporating a laundry makes bathing, washing and ironing pleasurable.
  5. The studio is a magic environment to work in. It has controllable natural light and ventilation as well as fantastic views to the city and towards Newtown.

Environmental Benefits
  • In summer the light tower also acts as a stack effect by drawing cooler air upwards from the rear garden and shaded light-well.
  • All roof rainwater is split into 2 pipe sections that run the length of the courtyard walls and water those sections of the garden.
  • A Solar Hot Water system is mounted on the roof of the rear section of the terrace along with 12 PV panels.
  • All of the bricks have been recycled to form the courtyard walls. Almost all of the timber joinery and sections have been reused and restored.
  • By reducing the footprint of the rear of the terrace it has been possible to increase (substantially for an inner city terrace) the amount of private open space and tree canopy for increased shading.
  • The studio has a glazed turret that is shaded by a retractable high wind proof awning.

Find Out More ​​

PO Box 1018 MORUYA
NSW 2537, Australia
[email protected]