Yesterday and today
This renovation respects the home ’ s heritage past while adding space and functionality
There is more than one path to take for an extension to a protected historic home – one is to echo what ’ s gone before , another is to stand out in sharp contrast . And then there is a third option – create a modern addition that stylistically and in terms of scale echoes the existing residence .
This renovation and rear extension to a heritage-protected city villa by architect Tom Rowe took the third way forward .
“ The owners ’ brief was for a cleanlined addition with modern functionality that would at the same time work well with the existing home in terms of both scale and materiality ,” says Rowe .
Other requests were for maximum usable space in the extension , including a semi-separate living area for the owners ’ children to play in while still feeling a part of the new living and kitchen volume .
In addition , natural light penetration was required in the add-on but not at the expense of privacy from near neighbours . Plenty of storage was another requirement .
The renovation project also involved reshuffling and upgrading bedrooms and bathrooms in the original home . Plus the villa ’ s Matai floors were restored and oiled .
To prepare for the rear extension , an inefficient lean-to added at an earlier time was removed . Next a concrete slab was laid , extending back roughly the length of the existing structure again .
“ We retained the villa ’ s original multipitch roof and added a new internal metre-wide gutter between the old and the new roofs ,” Rowe says .
“ This was , in part , to allow for any elements being out of square on the search | save | share at