Considered Connections – West Hobart House by Preston Lane Architects

As a careful grafting to the original home, West Hobart House sees the purposeful opening of a home previously void of connections to better engage the site. Preston Lane Architects contains the additions and amendments to a similar and respectful scale of its previous chapter to aptly ready the home for the chapter to come.

Spread over multiple levels, the existing home lacked connection. Both internally within zones and between shared spaces and then out toward the rear garden, there was no concept of assembly and, resultingly, this formed the basis of the new works. Originally built in the 1920s, the workers cottage still retained reminders of its early and crafted beginnings, clad in weatherboard sheeting and quaintly engaging with the site. Although the cottage has been extruded upward, its openings remained internally closed off, blocking natural light, ventilation and sightlines internally and beyond the home. Preston Lane Architects overlayed an openness throughout and integrated support and storage systems to make the everyday feel more cohesive with the architecture, allowing a better connection to the surrounding natural elements.

A central stair becomes a sculptural insertion into the new addition to the rear, poking out at the base as a gesture for its vertical movement and of a change in functionality.

While the inherited conditions did allow for a separation between quiet and louder spaces, this separation was too obvious and did not allow for connectivity. Built by MGB Construction, West Hobart House is the fusing of a rigour of structure and planning with a more modern sensibility to enable the owners to live and occupy the home in a contemporary way. Large glazing insertions span the rear wall that connects the open living, dining and kitchen space with the landscape. The operable nature of the doors then allows for a spill over of use, extending the functionality beyond the traditional boundaries of the home.

A light and natural palette forms the interior, further accentuating the feeling of openness internally. To allow for a continued relevance and longevity, the neutral curation of toned down and muted finishes becomes a quiet background for the happenings of life. A central stair is a sculptural insertion into the new addition to the rear, poking out at the base as a gesture for its vertical movement and of a change in functionality. The side walls have then been pulled back as a reveal to the crafted nature of the timber stair, as an extension of the flooring, as it wraps up and over the treads. The new elements aim to extend outward from the original, in scale and texture, to feel appropriate and sensitive in their addition.

A light and natural palette forms the interior, further accentuating the feeling of openness internally.

As a balancing of old and new, aligning the newer iteration with what was before, West Hobart House is the result of careful deliberation. Through a measured lens, Preston Lane Architects ensures a continued relevance in place for its owners.