Westgarth House

by Kennedy Nolan

From The Architects

The site is on a corner in a leafy street. The area is quiet and would not feel out of place in a country town. The longest boundary faces north and abuts a generous grass nature strip.

Typically the original timber Edwardian house was located towards the corner of the site. Out-buildings were removed and the new work sought to address privileged orientation and heighten the entry sequence.

The original house primarily accommodates the family’s own space; call it private. The new building is where day to day life is played out between kitchen and living. This public zone establishes a direct connection to the north lawn.

The roughcast rendered garden wall sits somewhere between landscape, sculpture and building. It is both garden edge and entry wall. Within the architecture there is a focus on texture. White paint reduces this palette of timber, steel, brickwork and roughcast render to texture alone. New and old are unified by this approach.

There is nothing overly complex going on here, although it is a highly organised arrangement that allows everything to be in its place. This house is designed to be a beautiful backdrop for family life.