Urban Squeeze

We live in a Demolition Control Precinct and the residents in our street have very strong opinions about protecting the existing dwellings, most of which were constructed pre-1946 or pre war. The intent of the Demolition Code is to maintain the character of the pre-war streetscapes by controlling demolition, relocation and removal of buildings that contribute to the traditional character of the street or area. 

Sometimes, however, demolition protections are not enough to save some of these houses. People can and do find loopholes in local laws. After a long and hard battle with Council this worker's cottage was permitted to be demolished and a new double-story house is now being constructed in it's place. 

The 2nd story is yet to go up. Nice view of a block wall!

I imagine the occupants of the house next door are now feeling a little hemmed in. Living on a small lot with a 1m setback can present all kinds of issues such as overshadowing, loss of natural light and privacy. Is there a price for this loss of amenity? All of a sudden living next to a block of units doesn't seem so unappealing.

Reno - Week 8

Sunny Days = Happy Days (when it comes to concreting)

I heard the other day that last month was Brisbane's wettest July in forty years! Is this the Year of the Snake doing it's thing? Consequently, progress at the West End Cottage has been off to a very slow start.

The concreters spent most of this week boxing up the suspended slab and the 2.5m wide stairs which will lead down to the back garden. And now that the concrete has been poured, this completes the major structural component of our new terrace. Eventually the floor and stairs will be lined with face brick.

Formwork being constructed for the suspended slab and stairs which will form the new terrace/outdoor room

Model of the rear elevation

The structural timber has also been delivered, so hopefully by the end of next week the subfloor for the extension (ie posts, bearers and joists) will be constructed at which point we should get a good sense of the size of new house and how it will flow. The internal floorspace will end up triple the original amount which sounds huge but there were only four small rooms to begin with - so really quite modest in size for a family of six.

I forgot to mention earlier that a lot of interesting things were uncovered during the excavation of the footings, namely metal objects including horseshoes. I've since discovered that there was once a foundry located over the back fence where a brick and tile house has since been built. It is looking more like a glass recycling plant these days:

The life of Uni Students!

I think it may be time to plant a tall hedge.

31/52

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week in 2013." via Che and Fidel

All: Each and everyone of you are well overdue for a haircut. 

Is this the next generation of budding builders and architects?

Our local Kindy has a large proportion of children who are fortunate enough to live in architecturally designed homes or whose parents are architects themselves. And I'm not necessarily talking about lavish or grand houses, but ones that are thoughtfully designed to invoke the senses and inspire imagination and creativity. Living in such homes on a day-to-day basis surely must influence those young minds just a bit. And it reads like a who's who of local talent - OwenandVokesandPeters, Aardvarc, Riddel Architecture and James Russell Architect who incidentally took out the recent honour of Australian House of the Year Award for his Bisley Place House in the 2013 Houses Awards. Big congratulations to you Jamie - well done!

Bisley Place House - JRA

As a child who grew up in a "govie" (a colloquialism used to describe a typical Canberran government-built house or "housing commission" home as they are known in Queensland) I wonder if these children realise just how fortunate they are. I hated the house I grew up in and from a very young age I used to scan through the local Realtor looking at the houses for sale, dreaming of somewhere nicer to live. I distinctly remember wondering why the homes in Queensland were so cheap in comparison. (If only I had some money back in the 70's!) Perhaps my interest in houses from an early age was due to humble beginnings - was I subconsciously looking for greener pastures way back then? And how ironic is it that I should end up living in a worker's cottage in Brisbane?

I'll finish off today with a bit of goss for anyone who reads The Design Files - you must keep a lookout for the upcoming interview that Lucy Feagins recently conducted with O+V+P. It's so great to see our local talent winning awards and being showcased on a national level.

Building Next to Units - Pros and Cons

Neighbouring our house is a two-storey unit block - not exactly ideal. Most would consider this as a negative from a planning and design perspective, particularly as we are on a small lot. It has, however, presented opportunities for innovation that has greatly influenced the overall design of the house.

The proposed design of our renovation is such that it has "turned it's back" on the unit block next door. We have eliminated window openings towards the units, and the design has ensured that there is little if any overlooking from the units onto our private outdoor space. Had there been a house next door, it would have probably been sited one-metre from the boundary which could have made noise and privacy issues a lot harder to deal with. The units have advantageously created a 5-metre buffer zone between both buildings due to the location of the driveway, something of a rarity now in our inner-city suburbs.

Fortunately for us the unit block is on our Western side which blocks out the hot afternoon sun during the Summer and should, in theory, save us money by limiting our air-conditioning requirements as well.

And it would seem that our renovation is not only benefitting us. Just have a look at what our neighbours on our other side have faced since the units were built:

View from our neighbour's back garden. 

Absolute zero privacy (and a bit of an eyesore really.) Everyone has been scratching their heads as to what that blockwork structure in our yard is for  - a pool, water tank perhaps? No, it's going to be a terrace complete with outdoor fireplace.

And this will be our neighbour's view when our renovation is completed:

And with some thoughtful planting along the fence line, I think this will be a good outcome for them as well.