A Soaring Timber Extension Revs Up a Quiet Suburban Home in Australia

Houses We Love: Every day we feature a remarkable space submitted by our community of architects, designers, builders, and homeowners.

Project Details:

Location: Northcote, Victoria, Australia

Architect: Ben Callery Architects

Builder: Keenan Built

Structural Engineer: Richard Rees

From the Architect: "Raw and honest locally sourced materials are used throughout. Victoria ash lining boards, Tasmanian oak flooring, and silvertop ash slats bathed in natural light express the warmth inherent in this place. Timber slats block summer sun while preventing overlooking of neighboring properties. Their angle uses the synergy between the bevel inherent in their resource-efficient radial sawing and the angle of the low winter sun to provide passive solar heating. Hand-made craft of great builders is expressed throughout. Timber rafters from the existing roof were salvaged and reused for the feature sliding doors and dining room pendant light.

"In-situ concrete was crafted for the benchtop and floating hearth. Apart from those, and the stumps, no other concrete was used, in preference for timber sub-floor structure, heavily insulated, as a lower-embodied energy and renewable approach to thermally sound building. The sustainable design aspirations are complemented by a decision to go off gas, using all electric appliances, hot water, hydronic heating and cooling combined with solar power."