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 search | save | share at trendsideas.com 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.