Extension of Lightness – Hendra Residence by Wrightson Stewart and Barbara Bailey

Extending a post-war elevated home in Queensland requires a matched lightness in touch, and Hendra Residence is perched as a prime example. Wrightson Stewart and Barbara Bailey combine to inject a cohesive flow internally that extends outward and melds the home into a contemporary series of spaces.

Located in its namesake suburb of Hendra, Hendra Residence combines the traditional Queenslander vernacular of timber wrapping boards and linear lines together with a contemporary sensibility that connects its residents through open movement internally. The new works extend the overall floorplate of the existing, reshaping the home through a holistic lens to ensure a unified approach. While the original home provides material and formal cues for the reconfiguring of the extension, each element is translated in its own way. Combining interior design by Wrightson Stewart and architecture by Barbara Bailey, the team proposes a warm and illuminated generous family home.

The new elements then act as an extension and evolution of the original, focussing on craft and the use of timber to shape the form and feel of the home.

Built by JCW Builders, Hendra Residence preserves its original post-war origins with the existing proportions and heritage details remaining in place. The new elements then act as an extension and evolution of the original, focusing on craft and the use of timber to shape the form and feel of the home. Expressed formally, a walkway gesture separates the old from the new and allows a separation of both form and era. Clad in timber battens, the transparent transition space shares a sense of movement with the streetscape while ensuring privacy is maintained internally. Sitting on the same plane, the transition is strengthened through the realigning of the core elements of the home and an open, connected series of living spaces.

Encased in white, the existing proportions extend outward and lengthways to create an elevated banded form, under which the garage and key access points are positioned. The consistent use of such a bright palette ensures a binding of the old and new, allowing the interaction with the sun to further illuminate the home. While the continued use of timber reinterprets the traditional Queenslander approach, in its modern application it also adds a freshness to the home. Drawing on the arts and crafts movement of the original ilk of the home, the new additions share a similar playful approach to joinery. The use of terracotta against the textural timber in the kitchen adds an element of the unexpected, while warming a very tactile and high interactive feature

Drawing on the Arts and Crafts movement of the original ilk of the home, the new additions share a similar playful approach to joinery.

In its familiarity and warmth, Wrightson Stewart and Barbara Bailey’s Hendra Residence becomes an expanded and contemporary home, connected and openly engaging with its context, climate and history.