Fusing the Traditional with the New – Danny’s House by Lockyer Architects

As a contemporary interpretation of the subtropical Queenslander vernacular, Danny’s House is the fusing of the old and the traditional with the new and deliberate. Shaun Lockyer Architects combines differing time periods with an immersion in context, taking cues from surrounding typologies and allowing the natural to infiltrate the built.

Located in New Farm, Brisbane, Danny’s House brings the existing into the present and purposefully engages with its surrounding context. As a renovation and extension, the original Queenslander bones are refreshed with new purpose, with the resulting home bound by a sense of cohesiveness. Through a contemporary lens, the traditional subtropical vernacular is dissected and reassembled to act as an extension of the previous dwelling. The use of deep overhangs, protected edge treatments and the softening of hardened edges through landscaping allow the transition from built to natural to be lightly tempered and diffuses the traditional boundaries between inside and out. Shaun Lockyer Architects takes cues from the physical and historical background and proposes a refined, contemporary interpretation.

Evident in the way the disciplines came together with ease on site is the cohesive and collaborative working relationship of the comprising team. Together with Shaun Lockyer Architects, Danny’s House is built by Solido Builders, with engineering by Westera Partners and landscaping by Martin Brothers and is the result of a cross disciplinary approach. With a want for mix the historical elements of the home with an industrial approach, a sense of robustness is expressed through materiality and the resulting monochromatic palette. Throughout, the use of exposed concrete vertical and horizontal planes cools the home both visually and climatically. The ease from which the interior transitions into the exterior is expressed through the extensive use of concrete, where thresholds become more notional than physical. Combined with nods of warming timber, the scale of the internal zones remains residential and the formality takes cues from the heritage.

Expressing the differences between the new and old elements, a lighter approach of white and pale oak is used in the existing heritage areas while black and concrete dominate the wholly new. There is an intentional play of contrasts present, expressing the home and its two lives as almost separate personalities – one feminine and introverted, and the other bolder and more masculine. With two-street frontages, these two personalities are articulated and link back into the surrounding context and the duality between heritage and contemporary. The front streetscape remains as the original Queenslander cottage with its delicate and ornate detailing, and the rear-facing expressing an enduring, streamlined methodology.

Danny’s House is multi-layered and deeply connected to its origins. Shaun Lockyer Architects combines the clean and uninterrupted lines of a contemporary approach with the nuances of heritage restoration and respond through personality to the home’s subtropical locale.