A Stairway to Heaven Forms the Roof of This Cottage Add-On in Australia

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Project Details:

Location: Brisbane, Australia

Architect: Nielsen Jenkins with Michael Lumby Architecture

Footprint: 2,500 square feet

Builder: Struss Constructions

Engineer: Westera Partners

Landscape esign: Nielsen Jenkins with Michael Lumby and Tom Collins

Photographer: Tom Ross

From the Architect: "Stuartholme House is the renovation and addition to a postwar cottage sitting on a long block which backs into the foothills of Mount Coot-Tha to the west. The driveway dips down and back up to the house across a designated overland flow path which renders much of the eastern part of the site as landscaped gully.

"The existing rectilinear house runs north/south on the block, with a previous addition by Peter Kuhnell to the southeast. Our client had purchased the property and wanted new work to allow a better connection to the bushland to the west and to privatize the living areas of the house from a development to the south.

"A new lounge and primary bedroom suite are arranged to define and prioritize a new private courtyard, which connects directly to the bushland beyond in both plan and section. The new work uses the geometries of the boundary setbacks to flare slightly apart from the old building edges and allow increased amenity to existing spaces.

"Materials have been chosen for longevity, economy, and bushfire resilience. Filtered light and canopy views are brought into the building through high-level glazing, but the building and courtyard are deliberately slightly sunken into the hill to achieve a sense of refuge within the larger landscape."