Acute House is the transformation of a 'renovator's nightmare' into a compact 21st century family home. The severe limitations of a tiny, very triangular site and the demanding heritage context have resulted in a pointy new wedge of house that is designed to exploit its problems.

The original, and extremely decrepit, Victorian weatherboard cottage had become impossible to inhabit but was well loved by the neighbourhood as well as its new owners.

We tried to retain its weathered character by re-using as much original fabric as possible from warped weatherboards and fence palings to random accumulations such as door knobs, vents and street numbers. Like fragile museum artefacts, these were carefully removed, labelled, stored and re-installed in their original location on a new mount that not only highlights their charms by contrast but allows the house to live again in a new way.

Photography: OOF! architecture

DESIGN TEAM:

Architect: Fooi-Ling Khoo
Planning + Heritage: David Brand
Interior Design: OOF in collaboration with JPILD
Engineer: Mark Hodkinson Consulting Structural Engineers
Building Surveyor: Anthony Middling & Associates

CONSTRUCTION TEAM:

Builder: Mitty & Price | Michael Briese (Builder/Director) Christian Klueter (Foreman) 
External Cladding | Advanced Metal Cladding
Windows and Doors | Pickering Joinery
Joiner | TT Cabinets + Design
Steelwork | Redon Forge
Plumber | Innerline Plumbing
Electrician | Warner Electrical
Heating + AC | Marshall's Heating & Air conditioning Pty Ltd
Concrete Polishing | Lumic