Puzzle Box at Newtown NSW by Amrish Maharaj Architecture

Houses

Exterior view of the house provided with a balcony to take advantage of a landscape, while providing privacy screening to, and from neigboring properties.

Project Team
Amrish Maharaj Architecture
Scopeview Projects
Omega Project Services

Status
Completed 2020

About Amrish Maharaj Architecture

Amrish Maharaj Architecture was established in 2016 with a commitment to creating better spaces through innovation and consultation.

Our key skills involve producing unique and refined architectural solutions from individual client requirements and site constraints.

A small team of dedicated designers with complementing expertise ensures quality and commitment to clients.

A contemporary and spacious first floor features a study area that is affixed to the side of the stairs and dining are at the center.
A contemporary and spacious first floor features a study area that is affixed to the side of the stairs and dining are at the center.
A clearer picture of the ideal study box with a bookshelf.
A clearer picture of the ideal study box with a bookshelf.
Top image of the new contemporary stairs.
Top image of the new contemporary stairs.
The narrow hallway is taking advantage of a wide side access and skylights to flood the space with natural light.
The narrow hallway is taking advantage of a wide side access and skylights to flood the space with natural light.
A new master bedroom to the rear is provided with a balcony to take advantage of a borrowed landscape.
A new master bedroom to the rear is provided with a balcony to take advantage of a borrowed landscape.
The modern bathroom is oriented north to capture direct natural light and distant tree views.
The modern bathroom is oriented north to capture direct natural light and distant tree views.
The living room provides a clear view of the outside.
The living room provides a clear view of the outside.
The patio in the rear of the house is the ideal area to relax.
The patio in the rear of the house is the ideal area to relax.
The detailed floor plan of the house.
The detailed floor plan of the house.

Although well located in suburban Newtown; close to public transport, well-desired cafes, and public parks, this modest two-bedroom dwelling was quickly becoming cramped for the owners and their young daughter.

When planning for their second child, the owners contemplated a common conundrum – renovate or sell?

The home had been renovated by the previous owner, a builder who had reconfigured the second bedroom as an oversized bathroom, and nestled the master bedroom in the attic space, accessed only by a steep and narrow stair.

Given the opportunity to test options as the owners browsed property sales online, we looked at the spatial arrangement as a complex puzzle.

A successfully solving this puzzle required a contemporary and spacious first floor addition that unobtrusively sat above the the existing ground floor and connected to the attic bedroom. Almost paradoxically, the addition would need to connect, while providing a clear separation between all elements, in keeping with appropriate heritage values.

A modest 3 square metre infill to the ground floor allowed for a restrained and delicate reconfiguration, to accomodate a new contemporary stair and dining room in the centre of the house, taking advantage of a wide side access and skylights to flood the space with natural light.

On the first floor, a new light-filled hallway connects the existing attic bedroom with two new bedrooms and a modern bathroom, all orientated north to capture direct natural light, and distant tree views.

A new master bedroom to the rear is provided with a balcony to take advantage of a borrowed landscape, while providing privacy screening to, and from neigbouring properties.

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