Highlight House

by SSD Studio

The Highlight House by SSD Studio is an environmentally sustainable residential project located in the northern Sydney suburb of Willoughby.

The Highlight House Project is an alteration and addition to a semi-detached house in Sydney . Timber was chosen for the structure , cladding and flooring as it is cost effective , sustainable, durable and timeless. The timber cladding and flooring created a seamless transition from inside to out. The cladding and flooring added warmth and character to enable the new rear addition to sit easily within the landscape of the garden , framed by tall trees.

The aesthetic of the natural timber reflects the Japanese and Australian cultural heritage of the clients as it envelopes the new cantilevered verandah – An interpretation of the traditional Australian verandah married with the verandah of the Japanese temple, sitting lightly on the ground.

The original house comprised of a very small and dark living area with poor access to a small verandah and the beautiful rear garden. The concept of introducing a modest side addition as the dining room , that opened up to a generous verandah to the north and a pool to the east completely transformed the house. At the transition of the new addition , a south facing highlight window was added to bring a sense of space and drama to the room , defining areas within the open plan space and bring light and views of the tree tops into the room.

Sustainability was a major consideration for this project . SSD Studio approached the sustainable design of the Highlight House from first principles , designing a living space that is open to natural daylight , and natural ventilation through simple, yet highly effective measures.

Timber Cladding was used for aesthetic , cultural , sustainable and economic reasons . The new rear addition was designed to create a seamless transition between the new and the old. The new large verandah was designed to float above the garden , with the pool acting as an anchor , the timber cladding wrapping around the base of the pool as well as the exterior walls facing the verandah. The verandah was designed as a very light element in timber , to contrast with the dark and solid existing face brick and dark painted brick , used as a transitional material.

Timber formed a major aspect of the design process for the Highlight House. Elements like the feature timber framing of the window to the kitchen and solid timber joinery were introduced to highlight the natural beauty of the substance. This house gives the occupants a real sense of natural beauty both internally and externally.

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