Castlepeake Architects rescued dead space from around this hemmed-in semi in the Marrickville suburb of Sydney, Australia to offer it a new lease of life complete with verdant sight lines, natural light, and a playfully interconnecting interior. Responding to the clients’ brief to create a space that better connected with its exteriors and drew in more natural light, the architects looked upwards, first locating a new staircase to the side of an open-plan interior space to extend straight up to allow uninterrupted views to the garden, and second to maximise sightlines on the upper level to take in the canopies of neighboring trees. In addition, a rooftop garden was planted to connect the greenery of the street views with the home itself, the two lush elements lining up when viewed from numerous angles.
Within the Fondue House, operable hatches were installed on dividing walls, adding a playful sense of dialogue between spaces that would otherwise be shut off from each other, for instance, the internal windows of the bathroom that hover above the open kitchen below. Outside, a beautiful tropical garden filled the void that was once an underappreciated side return, partly circling the home with a leafy boundary that peeks in at the windows. Bold colours and raw materials of brick, concrete and wood were chosen to add a sense of suburban nostalgia to the contemporary overhaul.
Photography © Tom Ferguson