Gable House

by Robert Plumb Build & Potter & Wilson

The Gable House by Robert Plumb Build and Potter & Wilson was a project very close to the heart of Bill Clifton, the Managing Director of Robert Plumb Build.

This architect designed family home with its feeling of space, air and light began life as post-war brick semi in the Sydney suburb of Bondi. The Robert Plumb Build team worked with architects Potter & Wilson to turn this traditional single storey house, with its series of consecutive rooms, into a generous two-level home with a clear connection to the pool and garden.

From the street the architecture minimises the appearance of the second floor addition playing off existing gable angles to create a structure that, while clearly contemporary, has a distinctive design relationship to the existing home.

This architect designed family home with its feeling of space, air and light began life as post-war brick semi in the Sydney suburb of Bondi.

On the ground floor only the façade and the front bedrooms were retained with an emphasis on pumping up the sense of volume in the living room and amplifying its engagement with the garden.

The Robert Plumb Build team worked with architects Potter & Wilson to turn this traditional single storey house into a generous two-level home with a clear connection to the pool and garden.

Placing importance on getting light and cross ventilation into the long, narrow building was achieved with glazing on the southern side and skylights in the upper storey rooms. This was done to maximise the existence of natural light and heighten the occupants connection to the outside environment.

From the street the architecture minimises the appearance of the second floor addition.

The interiors by Briony Fitzgerald Design bring a fresh colour palette of light seaside colours mixed with darker tones that are placed alongside extensive joinery for display and storage. The Gable house also features a prominent study with a built-in double bed for increased hospitality capabilites.

Placing importance on getting light and cross ventilation into the long, narrow building was achieved with glazing on the southern side and skylights in the upper storey rooms.

With clear design and documentation by Potter and Wilson, a client who made quick decisions and Robert Plumb Build collaborating with Cranbrook Workshop and Dangar Barin Smith, the entire project was completed in just over a year, with the construction stage reaching completion in under six months. The Gable House is an isnight into Robert Plumb Build’s commitment to delivering homes on time and on budget.

The soft, lush planting by the landscape design team, Dangar Barin Smith, juxtaposed with the crispness of the building form, gives the house the sense of a contemporary oasis.