Queens Park House in East Sydney

Queens Park House, East Sydney Contemporary Design, Australian Architecture Images, Architect, Interior

Queens Park House in Sydney

Contemporary Australian Residence, NSW design by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

12 May 2017

Queens Park House in East Sydney, New South Wales

Design: Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

Location: East Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Queens Park House

Queens Park House by Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

The clients approached Madeleine Blanchfield Architects to design a new home in a heritage conservation area in Sydney’s East. The challenge then lay in concealing a large and contemporary two storey home behind part of a single storey federation frontage.

Queens Park House

To respect the existing building we adopted a folded roof form derived from the angles of the existing slate roof. The abstract space created is reflected inside the house as a dramatic folded stair void connecting the two levels. The remainder of the house is contemporary, light filled in contrast to the original.

Queens Park House

Queens Park House

What was the brief?
The clients approached Madeleine Blanchfield Architects to design a new home in a heritage conservation area in Sydney’s East. The brief was for a modern, open and airy house that had a strong connection to the garden and a sense of privacy and openness at the same time.

Queens Park House

What materials are featured?
The budget for the house was not excessive. Decisions had to be made on where to concentrate spending and how to maximise impact. The material palette is simple – black, white and timber being the main elements. Painted battens are used on the upper roof form to mimic roof-like qualities while providing screening and softness to the windows and walls. Light and volume were the focus in lieu of overly expensive materials or details.

Queens Park House

What were the key challenges?
The existing house on the site was not a heritage item, however its façade was part of a consistent row of houses and exemplary as a part of this wider context.

Queens Park House

What were the solutions?
To respect the existing building we adopted a folded roof form derived from the angles of the existing slate roof. This folded form twists to become the walls and windows of the upper level of the house, blending it with the existing roof and minimising the presence of the second storey from the street. The abstract space created where the original and the new meet is reflected inside the house as a dramatic angular stair void leading to the upper level.

The pragmatic brief is met by providing a light filled, edgy and contemporary home that is barely hinted at from the street. The only visible addition is subtle, gradual rather than jarring and completely submissive to the existing dwelling. Only upon entering the original, ornate room at the front of the house do the lightness and volumes of the new spaces become apparent.

Queens Park House

Key products used:
The budget for the house was not excessive. Decisions had to be made on where to concentrate spending and how to maximise impact. The material palette is simple – black, white and timber being the main elements. Painted battens are used on the upper roof form to mimic roof-like qualities while providing screening and softness to the windows and walls. Light and volume were the focus in lieu of overly expensive materials or details.

Queens Park House

How is the project unique?
The planning is clear and simple, with living and kitchen spaces opening onto the garden on the lower level and bedrooms on the upper one. The rear of the site is lower than the front so the back room steps down to meet the garden and has a 4m high ceiling.

Queens Park House Queens Park House

This high ceiling allowed Madeleine Blanchfield Architects to incorporate high level glazing throughout the living areas. The band of windows surrounds the house and continues between internal rooms. Combined with a large cantilevered lowered awning to reduce the impact of the afternoon sun on the west facing façade, the high-level glass gives a floating sense to the abstract roof form housing the bedrooms.

Screens for sun-shading and privacy on the bedroom level are finished in the same painted battens as the extended roof to reinforce the architectural expression of a singular roof form floating above the glassy rear pavilion.

Queens Park House

Queens Park House in Sydney – Building Information

Completion date: 2016
Building levels: 2

Photography: Prue Ruscoe

Queens Park House in Sydney images / information received 120517 from Madeleine Blanchfield Architects

Location: Queens Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

New Architecture in Sydney

Contemporary Sydney Buildings

Sydney Architecture Designs – chronological list

Sydney Building News

Sydney Architecture Walking Tours by e-architect

Sydney Houses

Infinity House, Curl Curl
Architect: CplusC Architectural Workshop
Infinity House Curl Curl Sydney
photographers : Murray Fredericks and Simon Whitbread
Infinity House in Curl Curl

Tennyson Point House
Architects: CplusC Architectural Workshop
Tennyson Point House Sydney
photograph : Murray Fredericks
Tennyson Point House

Sydney Architecture

NSW Architecture

Avoca Beach Beach House, Avoca Beach, Central Coast, NSW
Architects: Architecture Saville Isaacs
Beach House on Avoca Beach NSW
photograph : Kata Bayer
Beach House in NSW

Twin Houses
Architects: Architecture Saville Isaacs
Twin Houses Sydney
photograph : Kata Bayer
Twin Houses in Sydney

Sydney Architect Studios

Australian Architecture

Australian Houses

Comments / photos for the Queens Park House in Sydney page welcome

MBA