Drawing on Legacy – Bianco House by Ha Architecture

Words by Bronwyn Marshall
Architecture by Ha Architecture
Photography by Nicholas Wilkins
Build by BFC Built
Interior Design by Ha Architecture

Mirroring existing forms and as a response to surrounding context, Bianco House builds on a previous renovation of the Edwardian row home. Ha Architecture takes cues from the formerly established white-on-white palette to propose a home of lightness and refinement, articulated through a crafted approach.

Nestled into the clearly defined heritage streets of Kensington, Bianco House is the extension of an existing Edwardian-era home, designed with a sympathetic lens. A previous restoration effort to the front portion of the house established a clean and light focused approach – the latest iteration acts as a highly considered extension and evolution of those same principles. Despite its narrow allotment, the additional works expand deeper into the site and rise upwards with a second level neatly tucked behind the original silhouette of the home. Ha Architecture draws on the existing and respectfully responds through a crisply refined approach, still remaining connected to the handmade elements of the original structure.

Subtleness is key, as the resulting home becomes an assortment of expressed texture within a minimal and restrained palette.

Built by BFC Built, Bianco House sees an expansion both outward and upward, however a carefully curated approach to the formal addition controls any overshadowing of either neighbouring property. Navigating the north-west orientation, the resulting volumes propose a strategic interplay with light, allowing shadows to be created as both controls of comfort and voids to provide shelter. As an evolution from the original home’s weatherboard timber cladding, the new volume is wrapped in white vertical cladding, twisting in direction as a signal of its newness. Combining a shared kitchen and dining space to the rear, a newly sculpted master bedroom, ensuite and robe is added above. Subtleness is key, as the resulting home becomes an assortment of expressed texture within a minimal and restrained palette.

Internally, a calming warmth takes hold as the natural light mixes with the soft and supple materiality of plaster and muted timber elements. The home feels deliberately restive, where moments such as curated openings connect the built features and the natural landscape beyond. Integrated joinery ensures the space is utilised efficiently, with a window seat posed as the ideal place to perch and ponder. A thin metal balustrade casts a delicate laced shadow that moves through the home, while also allowing additional natural light to penetrate and increase a visual connection. The combination of similar toned tiles, paint, plaster and stone create a balanced harmony, allowing the textural warmth of the timber and polished concrete flooring to be expressed in the process.

The home feels deliberately restive, where moments such as curated openings connect the built features and the natural landscape beyond.

Bianco House offers insight into how combining a balanced calm with restraint can reap bountiful rewards. Ha Architecture adds considerable depth to the existing home through a measured and meaningfully approach.