PUTNEY HOUSE

WALLUMEDEGAL LAND. A double-storey street-front extension with three bedrooms, teenage retreat and garage, set on a deep block with lush, forest-like gardens on flood-prone land. 

The design of the family home will create a new face to the street while interconnecting the residence's previous modern rear extension and portions of its Federation core.

The challenging south-facing, wedged-in location of the extension is managed through a combination of a central, spatially interactive light and ventilation trench, combined with lateral 'double-skin' facades with custom-designed adjustable CFC louvres, allowing light and glimpses of sun deep into the spaces, or blocking solar access, while maintaining privacy to adjacent buildings.

Ryde Council flood controls led to alternative solutions in the ground floor planning, such as flood escape routes and raised access to the teenage retreat, while being able to retain the overall existing ground floor level.

Passive house design principles are used for the new extensions and to improve the thermal comfort of the existing, underperforming section of the building: thermal mass is being increased with off-form concrete ceilings and internal masonry walls. Effective cross-ventilation of the upper floors allows breezes throughout the building via a ventilation plane. A linear, top-lit void at the intersection of new and old allows solar access deep into the house and contributes to the distribution of cooler ground-floor air through the upper levels.

The formerly cool and damp northeastern boundary portion, wedged between the neighbouring building, was viewed as an opportunity to expose the building to direct sunlight via a top-lit winter garden extension with a concrete floor to allow passive heating in winter. Planted roof terraces linking the existing portion of the house with the new extension create pleasant outdoor spaces on all floors, filter air, and improve the microclimate.

Team: Angela Rheinlaender and David Haseler
Structural Engineer: Cardno
Civil Engineer: Law & Dawson
Sustainability Consultant: Integreco