An old, dark two-storey terrace in inner west Sydney has been restored into an airy and warm home by Caroline Pidcock. Bob Lawrence reports.
When a series of terrace houses were built, generally over a century ago, they had the functional purpose of housing families. In the modern era, people want more than just shelter.
“Terrace houses are wonderful buildings which give great flexibility and longevity,” says Caroline Pidcock, director of Pidcock — Architecture + Sustainability. “They have strong bones, but can be changed on the periphery in a wide variety of possible designs.”
Pidcock was the second architect consulted by a family wishing to restore their two-storey Petersham terrace in Sydney. Pidcock says it was an advantage that the client already had ideas of what they wanted and at least knew what they did not want after assessing earlier proposals from designers.
The client’s requirements were:
• a $300,000 budget
• update the building
• better use of the north-facing backyard
• update the downstairs bathroom and laundry
• renovate the upstairs bathroom
• update an old kitchen
• address cracking
• make better use of the sun
• retain the century-old lime tree that was a feature of the open space and provided fruit and shade
Among the challenges was the two- storey high bland wall with windows that was the northern boundary, and overcoming the usual Victorian-era design legacy of two dark and cold south-facing front rooms.
Pidcock designed the home to connect the house to the garden and allow a more flexible use of space. It also directs family living away from the overbearing high-walled northern aspect by focusing the house westwards. For privacy from the neighbouring windows, Pidcock installed obscure and plain glass coupled with blinds.
“We popped the kitchen and living room to the north and a two-level deck over the garden that falls away to the west. This gave a seamless flow into the garden. The west- facing deck no longer requires people to look at the high northern perimeter wall, but rather onto a sunny garden,” Pidcock says.
The top section of the deck has a Vergola opening roof system that through small adjustments, gives natural light, full shade or diffused light. This portable roof system gives the family an extra room and adds to the flow-through effect from the house to the garden. Steps then lead down to the second deck level, which is partly under the old lime tree.
Internally, Pidcock replaced walls with concertina glazed timber doors to allow light through the house. The doors enable rooms to be either closed off from each other or connected, and then flow onto the deck. “There are now a series of different but unexpected experiences for anyone entering through the front door,” Pidcock says. “Instead of the traditional layout, we have the concertina door, high openable windows which allow light and cross ventilation, while lower Victorian ash timber framed louvres and fixed windows give a beautiful view of the garden.”
Pidcock says there was no “road to Damascus” moment in the project when everything fell into place. “It was evolutionary, not revolutionary,” she says. “I was lucky. Having clients who had gone through a preliminary process with another person had allowed them to be more focused.”
The only snag in the project was a planned shed at the end of the deck. The local council insisted a shadow diagram be done. After that was produced, the council wanted the shed moved. Council then insisted on privacy planting, which cast a similar shadow to the shed.
Among the project’s passive sustainable initiatives was the existing thermal mass of an old Victorian era double-storey terrace. She supplemented that by introducing new well insulated stud walls using Powerscape recycled high-density gypsum sheets. She also used Aircell’s Glareshield insulation that features an anti-glare surface coating and high-polish aluminium foil for the under/inner surface, which is separated by a fire- retardant polyethylene cell structure. Under the Colorbond roof were installed rot, fungi and bacteria resistant Insulco bonded polyester batts to control heat, cold and noise.
Ventilation both ways was maximised by replacing a solid wall with concertina doors, introducing high side windows and installing an energy efficient Sycamore ceiling fan in the new living area for high airflow with low turbulence and minimal wind noise.
Pidcock also specified Oikos non- toxic paints, which she says she has been using for years. Installed beneath the deck were two PVC Ecesic 2,300 litre tanks to enable potable rainwater storage. In replacing the floors, an Armour floor Big River Blackbutt Ultracooler floating floor was chosen for the two front rooms, while the renovated area was mainly on a concrete slab.
Pidcock does not see sustainable initiatives included in the project as a cost, but rather an extension of the principle of paying that little extra for organic fruit and vegetables. She says: “Being green is essential. It’s something we have to do. Australia does not yet have the strength of environmental regulation of many overseas nations. Architects who don’t educate themselves to include environmental considerations will eventually have to employ people who do, or have no work.”
