Trends New Zealand Trends Volume 32 No 1 New Zealand | Page 26
Previous pages, above, facing page
upper, and right: Offering a point of
difference to the solidity of the brick
and sandstone house it connects
to, this glass-walled extension is
designed around the site’s large
mature gum tree.
Facing page, middle: Before the
renovation, two sets of French doors
connected to the rear yard. The
original house has been reconfigured
as bedroom spaces, with living areas
moved to the modern extension.
It’s a scenario often faced by architects – how
to most effectively add spacious, contemporary
living to an historic home. Sometimes, a clear
divide is best for the old, and also for the new.
The renovation and expansion of this family
home with a heritage-listed facade was undertaken by BE Architecture. Together with
reworking the interiors of the sandstone and
red-brick house, BE directors Jonathon Boucher
and Andrew Piva were asked to add an extension and pool on the sloping rear of the site.
The extension had to embrace a beautiful
lemon-scented gum on the property and provide
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seamless indoor-outdoor flow, says Boucher.
“The two-level addition is built on a floating slab
of off-form concrete with timber infills bridging
the root structure of the ancient tree.
“Strategies were made in conjunction with
an arborist to ensure the tree and root system
weren’t harmed during the tricky construction.”
In terms of layout, the ground floor of the
addition comprises a large pavilion containing
the open-plan living, kitchen and dining space.
“The top floor – on a level with the main
upper floor of the existing house – has the new
master bedroom suite,” says Boucher.