Inviting The Outdoors In – Light House by Alexander Symes Architect
Imbued with an innate sense of serenity, Light House offers a sustainable approach to contemporary design with a focus on daylight, natural ventilation and connection to the outdoors. Transforming the dark, single-storey brick house into a light-filled oasis, Alexander Symes Architect has reinvigorated the original structure of a bygone home.
Located within a dense urban streetscape in Sydney’s Bronte, Light House feels almost unrecognisable from its predecessor. The home sits among the narrowed blocks populating one of Sydney’s most pristine coastal suburbs, seeing the relaxed ambience of the surrounding coastal location play a significant role in shaping the design. With immense consideration for light, Alexander Symes Architect crafts a home that seamlessly merges with the surrounding landscape.
Additions to Light House are integral to the home’s reimagination. The original cramped entryway below street level has been transformed; now, entry is at street level, passaged by a green roof designed by Fytogreen. Alexander Symes Architect ensures that each room seamlessly connects to the garden, outdoor dining or swimming pool, seeing the outdoors incorporated into the very fabric of the home. Other alterations include an upper-floor extension that hosts the new entryway, a main bedroom, ensuite and robe; the new sections carve out a calming retreat, removed from the rest of the house to complement the landscape.
The home’s communal spaces have also been reimagined. Keeping the original structure of the primary bedrooms and private spaces, they have been updated with skylights, glazing and an insulated high-performance envelope. Shared areas within the home have also been reconfigured to create larger rooms and open plan living; shadows flicker across the interior spaces as light moves throughout, creating patterns and moments of intrigue.
Responding to the evolving nature of architectural design and new conceptions of waste, Light House explores rejuvenation with a sustainable focus.
Responding to the evolving nature of architectural design and new conceptions of waste, Light House explores rejuvenation with a sustainable focus. The dematerialised design philosophy seeks to eliminate waste and embrace raw materials, which is evident in the fabric of the building – the structure, cladding and linings were selected to be carbon negative. Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) has been used for the extension, a material that doesn’t require secondary internal cladding. A considered approach has also been taken to ensure the new materials are long-lasting, as seen in the home’s double-glazed windows, insulation and the inclusion of solar panels and rainwater tanks.
A thoughtful and accomplished rejuvenation, Light House is a leading example of sustainable architecture and biophilic design. The home proposes an entirely new appreciation of its environment, seamlessly inviting the outdoors within.
