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Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Alfred House in Melbourne, Australia by Andrew Maynard ArchitectsJuly 8th, 2016 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Andrew Maynard Architects In a Nutshell Alfred House is an addition and reconfiguration of an existing two storey, two bedroom terrace, with a tired lean-to that had little relationship with the exterior space. The client wanted us to replicate one of our previous projects, Vader House, as they liked the idea of a centralised courtyard. It was an interesting idea for us to revisit and to evolve, as we were able to push the concept further due to the property’s connection with the laneway. The big challenge was that Alfred had less than half of Vader’s budget.  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden
 Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden Embracing the laneway Why do we have all these residential laneways that everyone fears and hides from? Why not embrace them as fun, cool spaces to be played in and used. It’s a topical subject at the moment, with a council led push for us to use our communal zones. Here, by building on the boundary and internalising the back garden, the clients now have this open area which nobody uses. By opening the doors to the back it extends their property and allows light and air to pour in.  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly The distance between us The lean-to was removed and the space redesigned to include an internal garden, kitchen/laundry, living/dining room, bathroom, (mezzanine) office and store room/garage – for the client’s prized motorbike. Rather than placing the addition directly on the rear of the house, we moved it back to the boundary laneway. In doing so we essentially turned the dodgy little lightwell that you find in most terrace houses, into an entire garden. With a backyard you have to choose to go outside, whereas here you don’t have to make that decision, the walls easily fold away to activate the space in a more natural way.  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden The Drop The floor level of the rear addition is sunken to a depth of 600 millimetres from the height of the laneway. The floor drop results in a generous internal height and uncompromised internal volume but reduces the height of the building externally. The clients wanted to go through council without making any noise, which is difficult when you build in a backyard. In order not to overshadow or overlook, and to maintain the floor levels between the old and the new, we dropped the level down by four steps. Using glass panels directly on the rear lane which slide back fully, the view as you come from the old house is completely unobscured and creates a wonderful relationship to the laneway.  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly Detailing the detail. Alfred was a real fine tuning exercise, unrelenting on every detail whilst working to a tight and constrained budget. The way the doors in the kitchen come together without the use of a central column, the deceptive mirror splashback, use of perforated steel to filter light, the way the back glass window opens up completely without a fixed panel – it all required the greatest of effort but appears effortless. There are also great moments of discovery, the street art by Order 55, specially commissioned by the clients, that adorns the original rear facade, and the canary yellow bathroom that dazzles in the otherwise pure white.  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden Sustainability. Like all of our buildings, sustainability is at the core of Alfred House. We’ve introduced North-facing glass and perforated metal awning to enable passive solar gain. All windows are double glazed with thermal separated frames. White roofs drastically reduce urban heat sink and heat transfer internally. High performance insulation is everywhere. Along with active management of shade, and passive ventilation demands on mechanical heating and cooling are drastically reduced. A large water tank has been buried within the courtyard. All roof water is captured and reused to flush toilets and water the garden. Where possible we have sourced local trades, materials and fittings. The new hydronic heated concrete slab provides a large area of thermal mass. Partial submersion reduces surface area and stabilises the internal temperature further.  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden  Image Courtesy © Fraser Marsden Austin Maynard Architects (Directors Mark Austin and Andrew Maynard) Andrew is a Tasmanian now living and working in Fitzroy, Australia. Andrew Maynard Architects (AMA) was established in 2002 after Andrew won the Asia Pacific Design Award’s grand prize for his mobile work station, THE DESIGN POD. Andrew Maynard Architects was established to strike a balance between built projects and bold, polemical design studies. The resulting highly crafted built work and socio-political concepts have garnered global recognition.  Image Courtesy © Andrew Maynard Architects THE AGE newspaper says of Andrew: “His concepts include a man-eating robot, a bicycle made of plywood and “Poop House” – a structure made from human excrement. Images of the archetypal mad scientist spring to mind, but architect Andrew Maynard, like his designs, comes across as measured and eloquent.” Andrew’s work has been published globally and has been exhibited worldwide from New York, Budapest and Osaka; to Milan, Sao Paulo and Tokyo.  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly  Image Courtesy © Tess Kelly  Image Courtesy © Andrew Maynard Architects  Image Courtesy © Andrew Maynard Architects
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