With big ideas and a limited budget, this family bungalow was reconfigured and reoriented through a clever manipulation of the roofline.
Bungalows make a great family home, but a lot of the traditional designs lack connection to natural light and exterior environments that most modern Australian families desire. With a limited budget and big goals, Splinter Society Architecture transformed Bungalow 8 House into a comfortable family home that enjoys the simple pleasures of domestic architecture.
“Addressing the lack of connection to the garden and the missing northerly aspect, making the home more sustainable and creating larger family/entertaining spaces were the key aspects of the brief,” says director of Splinter Society Architecture, Chris Stanley. “Beyond that, there were layers of influence our clients desired that related to their personal tastes, including an interest in Japanese design.”
The existing weatherboard bungalow boasted a basic configuration with little light and a “lean to” at the rear, which blocked a connection between the living spaces and large backyard. Considering the homeowners’ personal interest in Japanese design, reorientating the home from a west-facing dwelling to the north was a desired feature. However, twisting a home with a limited budget is certainly a challenge, one that Splinter Society Architecture cleverly managed through a triangular addition that inevitably pulled together a collection of the homeowners’ ideas into a simple design proposition.
“Rather than creating a traditional ‘box on the back’ renovation, we devised a triangular roof form that serves to shift the orientation of the rear from west to north. Furthermore, it creates a large eave to the west, allowing a covered outdoor space and significant protection from the west sun,” says Chris.
Bungalow 8 House is an adaptive reuse of the original structure that retains as much of the existing layout while creating a modern, free-flowing family home. The triangular form not only reorientates the abode’s primary spaces, but also contributes to the dwelling’s passive heating and cooling functions. Guided by the homeowners’ love of Japanese design, the material palette is made up of various natural materials and raw textures. Concrete masonry, natural stone, radially sawn ash wood and burnished finishes come together to provide warmth, lightness and connection to the exterior landscape.
“I would say this project is special because of its aspiration to not be grand,” says Chris. “It is special because it takes a modest home and budget and creates a highly sustainable family house that functions well and is a very happy place to inhabit,” says Chris.
Bungalow 8 is characterised by quality spaces that are well connected to natural light, to its exterior garden and well zoned for family interaction, while responding to a broader sense of responsibility to the environment.
We love
The way the triangular addition, stone flooring and timber cladding continue from indoor and outdoor spaces to create seamless flow between environments
Editor’s favourite
The suspended timber box shelving system that effectively divides spaces, hides light fittings and allows for decoration and storage in a beautiful manner
“Rather than creating a traditional ‘box on the back’ renovation, we devised a triangular roof form that serves to shift the orientation of the rear from west to north” – Chris Stanley
“I would say this project is special because of its aspiration to not be grand. It is special because it takes a modest home and budget and creates a highly sustainable family home that functions well and is a very happy place in inhabit” – Chris Stanley
Words by Karsha Green Photography by Mitch Lyons
