Architecture studio Vokes and Peters has produced a new timber-panelled interior for a heritage residence in Queensland, Australia, and built a new cottage-like extension at the rear (+ slideshow).
The Brisbane firm has almost doubled the dimension of the single-storey residence named West End Cottage – a prewar worker’s bungalow constructed in Queensland’s classic vernacular fashion.
The clients’ aim was to make adequate room to accommodate themselves and their kids, with no compromising the building’s authentic character. It was this that led them to Vokes and Peters.
“Our clientele came to us obtaining observed our interest in celebrating the vernacular Queenslander timber property,” explained the firm, which also not too long ago finished a blackened timber extension to a seaside residence.
“Over the existence of our practice we have measured and drawn more than 100 of these buildings and have attempted to use this research to create a materials and detail language that is sympathetic to the aesthetic sensibilities of the period, as effectively as complimentary to the craft talent of the Georgian carpenters who constructed the buildings,” they mentioned.
The architects adapted the layout of the existing constructing, leaving most of the rooms intact but punching new holes by means of the walls to make it truly feel much more open.
A new kitchen was additional in a single corner, while a bedroom block was built a tiny way behind.
The room between the new and outdated structures functions as a secluded terrace for the household, raised up over the level of the garden behind to protect it from flooding.
“For a young family on a relatively dense (by Brisbane requirements) inner city website, it was critical that direct, informal entry be supplied to the backyard,” said Vokes and Peters. “We see the provision of open space and the amenity it brings as a vital feature of the standard Brisbane suburb.”
Associated story: Vokes and Peters adds black timber extension to a cabin on Australia’s Sunshine Coast
“The terrace provides a secure outdoor perform space near to the residing ranges of the home,” it additional.
The current house features a monochrome facade with an elevated veranda and a lower-rise pitched roof.
The extension shares numerous of its qualities, but with subtle variations. For instance, the wooden cladding boards are oriented horizontally rather than vertically, and the walls are largely black rather than white. It also has a steeper roof pitch and sits on a brick base.
It is made up of two children’s bedrooms, as nicely as bathroom services that are divided up into distinct spaces. “Separating these functions makes it possible for independent use, keeping away from morning visitors jams,” stated the architects.
In the principal house, the kitchen, dining room and modest living space kind a line along a single side, top immediately through to the brick terrace behind. A larger living area and master bedroom are found on the opposite side.
“The public rooms have been deliberately found in the current cottage to make certain that the bulk of the social action takes place inside of these memorable spaces, but also to make certain that the cottage continues to encourage the occupants to engage the street, and by extension, their local local community,” explained the architects.
Restored wooden floors are complemented by predominantly white finishes all through the developing, including painted wall and ceiling panels, ceramic tiles, a marble kitchen counter and straightforward constructed-in cupboards.
The Queenslander type – characterised by its lower-rise timber form and veranda entrance – has also inspired a task outside of Australia. It was recently adopted by a residence in Japan by Tato Architects.
Photography is by Alicia Taylor and Christopher Frederick Jones.
Floor prepare – click for more substantial picture 
Prolonged section – click for larger picture 
Cross area – click for larger image 
