Atkins House

Project Type: Renovation/Extension
Services: Design, Documentation, Building Permit
Completed: 2011
Budget: $500k

Not too many architects are given the brief to extend a granny flat into a family home. However, this mud brick house on a generous allotment of approximately 1,000 square metres was subdivided from a large adjacent house with a swimming pool. While the owners of this property weren’t interested in looking for a larger house, they were drawn to the 1970s mud brick architecture and the established trees.

Designed for a couple with one child and a second child on the way, the brief to Ardent Architects was to transform a one-bedroom granny flat into a three-bedroom home. And while the house appears in original form, the new extension, also constructed in mud bricks and painted, can’t be detected from the street, or for that matter, when walking through this house. Although the kitchen remains in its original position, it has been thoughtfully renovated and extended in keeping with the late 1970s ambience. Raked ceilings, reaching up to 3.8 metres, a popular feature during that period, were continued in the new open plan living areas, with a steel beam in the ceiling allowing a thin roof profile.

As the owner was previously a licensed builder and carpenter, all the new timber joinery and timber-framed glass doors were crafted by his own hands. The owners were also keen to include some of the vibrant hues popular in the ‘70s, such as glossy vermilion acrylic to encase the bath. The original timber ceiling was also integrated into the design. Timber also features prominently, including in the kitchen with its half-timbered island bench that frames the stone.

Although the owners were keen to have protected off-street car parking, they, as with the architects, didn’t want to ‘cut into’ the mud brick façade. The solution was to create a cantilevered roof to protect the car (lined in plywood) while leaving the sides unencumbered. From the street, the Atkins House still evokes the 1970s, with only highlight windows in the mud brick walls providing a hint of what lies beyond: now a family home with a strong connection to the garden, sufficient bedrooms and importantly, some of the latest creature comforts that weren’t always delivered decades ago.