Page 95 - Designing Ways 238

Home is where the patio is
While the clients were immediately seduced by the buzzing energy of
the site with garages on one side, trains on the other, and the laneway
along the southern edge of the lot, it seemed important to create a place
to escape the constant stimulation emanating from the surrounding
context. By distancing the addition from the existing structure, a void
was created at the centre of the house. This void creates a physical and
visual gap, a pause between old and new, a new heart of the house. It
is both a place to isolate from the street and a place for concentration
and introversion. The extension filters exterior stimuli and acts as a
sort of acoustic and visual buffer between the tracks and the patio.

The house thus becomes a spatial gradient where one can choose
their position according to their mood and needs. The two courtyards
have entirely different identities: the backyard opens itself up to a
lush garden and the wild vegetation along the railroad tracks, while
the interior patio is introverted, abstract, and devoid of planted
vegetation.

The interior living spaces are placed on either side of the patio,
making it a focal point around which one revolves throughout the
day, a central node articulating every spatial transition. The extensive
glazing around the void allows light to penetrate deep into the house.
Large sliding panes of glass on each side of the inner courtyard create
a fluid passage from the living room, through to patio, through the
kitchen, and to the rear garden. When all operable panels are in an
open position, the inner courtyard becomes an extension of the inner
space and can fully participate in the intimate life of the house.
Using the jagged lot limits as an opportunity to articulate the house
At first glance, the disalignment between the original house and the
addition could be seen as a formal decision. In reality, this break was
generated by the desynchronisation between the official cadastral
limits and the actual position of the original house. On the north
side of the lot, the wall gradually deviates from the property line
to encroach 400mm onto the neighbouring property. The addition,
however, had to be built directly on the actual property line thus
creating a break in the north party wall. The plan takes advantage of

dw • Issue 238 95