Architects Add Party Flavor to Cookie-Cutter Pad

I’m not familiar with the zoning code-regulated height limits in Australia, but they must be pretty lax by the looks of this recently renovated pad: thanks to the work by MCK Architects, this suburban semidetached stands head and shoulders, or rather story and beams, above the adjoining houses. Sited in the well-off Bondi area, on the outskirts of Sydney, the North Bondi House was fitted with a first floor as well as aided with the lighting on the ground floor. The architects didn’t skimp on wooden beams when refashioning the look of the house, making them into a motif of sorts that now runs through both levels.

The renovated ground floor features a wooden staircase in the middle, lined with horizontal strips of timber that let the light tumble in from upper-placed lateral windows. Opening up the space and therefore ensuring a well-lit home was one of the project’s main objectives and, to that end, the architects did away with one of the walls, replacing it with wall-to-ceiling windows. While the lower part of the house tapers seamlessly into a patio, the master bedroom upstairs also ends in an open space – a sun-dappled balcony encased in timber rows and columns. The visual is bold, yet the overwhelming impression is serene and lounge-friendly: as the downstairs living space and kitchen are neatly compressed into one area, separated from the patio by a sliding window, they’d serve as a perfect starting point for a barbecue party.

(Source: Freshome.com)