House in Point Lonsdale by Solomon Troup Architects in Australia

Project: House in Point Lonsdale Architects: Solomon Troup Architects Location: Point Lonsdale, Australia Year: 2023 Photography by: Timothy Kaye

House in Point Lonsdale by Solomon Troup Architects

The house in Point Lonsdale, designed by Solomon Troup Architects in Victoria, Australia, represents a transformation of an 1980s red brick home into a residence and care facility for elderly people. A compact, shed-style addition complements the existing building and provides an improved sleeping block with a view of the garden. The interior spaces were reconfigured for family comfort. The project emphasized sustainable development, minimizing waste during demolition by reusing elements of the existing structure. The new addition features a spotted gum rain screen for privacy and shade, with external louvers to control sunlight.

Located in Point Lonsdale, Victoria, among the threads of munja and tea trees, this house in Point Lonsdale. This modest project aimed to transform the existing 1980s red brick home, previously used by a family of five, into a client residence after their children grew up and formed their own families.

By definition, the new addition of just 40 square meters represents a typical shed-style extension that sits under the existing facade boards and gutter system. The addition provides significantly improved sleeping quarters designed to offer views of the adjacent well-developed garden. The project also included a major redistribution of internal living, kitchen and dining areas. The existing unoccupied bedroom allows family members to visit occasionally and can be fully closed when no one is around.

The form of the addition was inspired by that of the existing building and its dormer roofs, as well as the unusual shape of the site. Since it is a cul-de-sac lot, it does not have a standard square or rectangular shape, which allowed for an unusual and interesting building area. The original facade was renovated, and only a small part of the new addition is visible from the street.

Construction waste constitutes about one-third of global waste. In this project, strategies were implemented that significantly reduced the amount of waste during demolition. The existing bathroom was reused as a new guest washbasin. The existing window opening was used as an entrance to the new bedroom. Rather than starting from scratch, various elements of the existing structure were preserved and reused to minimize waste in new construction.

The new addition is clad with a spotted gum rain screen that serves two functions. First, it provides operational privacy for the bathroom, allowing clients to control their level of confidentiality from the neighboring rarely used public park. The rain screen also provides shade for the building shell, which is particularly useful during hot summer afternoons when the new sleeping block faces west. External louvers are also used to maintain coolness in the bedroom. They can be fully opened in the morning to see the garden or closed to prevent hot western sun from entering the room.

The house in Point Lonsdale is a testament to how even small changes can significantly impact the functionality and comfort of living in a home.

–Solomon Troup Architects