Nerang House

by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture

The Nerang House project by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture overcomes several spatial and budgetary challenges to create a modern family home on the Gold Coast.

This 1970s house is located in a quiet equestrian patch of Nerang on the Gold Coast. The brief was to transform the existing home into a contemporary and comfortable five-bedroom family home but to be clever about it so that the owner-builder clients could do the work themselves.

The existing house was monolithic in design, presenting an unapologetic and dated façade to the street and turning its back on the acre of beautiful bushland to the rear garden – essentially, it was a box without any connection to its context or the potential daylight, ventilation and views.

“A couple of years ago we had the opportunity to purchase a large 1970’s house on acreage in the Gold Coast Hinterland. The property had been vacant for some time and was quite neglected.”

Internally the house retained its original decor within an expansive yet confused double storey arrangement. The long, low ceilings created and introverted, oppressive and claustrophobic interior.

“We decided to engage Alexandra Buchanan Architecture on how we could take this ugly duckling and make it our own!”

Alexandra Buchanan Architecture were approached to update and make sense of the spaces within the existing house. The brief was to transform the appeal of the exterior, creating new connections to the context and to design in a way that enabled the owner-builders to manage the alterations and additions themselves on a tight budget.

The final result has transformed a tired old house, and ultimately the client’s enjoyment of their new home, beyond anything the design team could imagine.

“Alex is a great listener, receptive to feedback, very honest and always careful to maintain the integrity of the design and the vision for the project. We couldn’t be happier with the process and the result.”

The Nerang House project by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture overcomes several spatial and budgetary challenges to create a modern family home on the Gold Coast.

This 1970s house is located in a quiet equestrian patch of Nerang on the Gold Coast. The brief was to transform the existing home into a contemporary and comfortable five-bedroom family home but to be clever about it so that the owner-builder clients could do the work themselves.

The existing house was monolithic in design, presenting an unapologetic and dated façade to the street and turning its back on the acre of beautiful bushland to the rear garden – essentially, it was a box without any connection to its context or the potential daylight, ventilation and views.

“A couple of years ago we had the opportunity to purchase a large 1970’s house on acreage in the Gold Coast Hinterland. The property had been vacant for some time and was quite neglected.”

Internally the house retained its original decor within an expansive yet confused double storey arrangement. The long, low ceilings created and introverted, oppressive and claustrophobic interior.

“We decided to engage Alexandra Buchanan Architecture on how we could take this ugly duckling and make it our own!”

Alexandra Buchanan Architecture were approached to update and make sense of the spaces within the existing house. The brief was to transform the appeal of the exterior, creating new connections to the context and to design in a way that enabled the owner-builders to manage the alterations and additions themselves on a tight budget.

The final result has transformed a tired old house, and ultimately the client’s enjoyment of their new home, beyond anything the design team could imagine.

“Alex is a great listener, receptive to feedback, very honest and always careful to maintain the integrity of the design and the vision for the project. We couldn’t be happier with the process and the result.”