Beach St.

The project was centred on the concept of converting an upside-down home (living upstairs) into a home with a conventional connection to external spaces. The solution was unconventional and involved the raising of the external spaces to the rear by 3m to access the existing living spaces, creating a greater level of transparency through the existing home and creating a new (fourth level) to access the panoramic views from the roof.

This solution presented numbers of complex approval and construction hurdles that are the unseen foundation of this complex project. These included overlooking, building on boundary, overshadowing, excavation, retaining and height issues.  

The home including a number of complexities and challenges in the integration and harmonisation of the existing 3 storey home with a new 3 storey addition, resulting in a 4 storey residence. A careful balance was followed through the maintenance of the existing built form with the new architectural form. The decision was made to complete the home in an integrated and sympathetic palette. This included introducing design elements into the existing home to stitch the two together.