Sivanesan House

A severe hail storm was the impetus for this project. The storm had virtually destroyed the existing tiled roof and the resulting water damage was such that the tiny worker's cottage was completely decrepit.

Given that the entire rear of the house was well past it's use–by date, the decision of what to demolish was easy. The two front bedrooms were retained but the wall between the two rooms was altered to enable the inclusion of much needed built–in wardrobes in each bedroom. Due to Council's stipulation that the pattern of light wells be maintained that existed in the row of adjoining terraces, the width of rear additions was dictated. However, this presented us with the common problem found in terraces, how to get light and air into the middle of the terrace. Through negotiations with Council officers, we were permitted to build the middle of the rear of the house to the full–width of the 3.9m wide site. This allowed us to maintain the existing pattern that was common at the rear of the row of terraces, but enable us to get much needed width to the kitchen and dining areas as well as incorporate windows into each end of the kitchen bench to bring light and air into the kitchen area. A large clear circular skylight not only flooded the Dining Room that adjoined the galley style kitchen with light, but also provided diners a snapshot of the beautiful blue sky above, which could not be seen through other windows due to the density of building in the area. As the Living Room had to maintain the narrow light well to the East, this otherwise useless space was brought into the house through the creation of a fish pond which could be accessed via the full–height sliding doors that formed the eastern side of the Living Room. The western wall was shared with the adjoining terrace, so the the focus of the house was the south facing rear yard. Full–height sliding glass doors were incorporated along the entire width of the narrow rear of the house, that when combined with the matching doors along the eastern side of the Living Room, enabled the entire corner of the house to open up onto a new small timber deck, just big enough for a couple of chairs.

Site Location: Redfern | Sydney | NSW

Project Architect: Campbell Baird

Project Team: Campbell Baird | Janice Baird

Builder: Graeme Lee

Joinery: Ital Furniture

Art Consultant: Suzanne Geiss | New York

Photographer: Terence Chin Photography