Lower Wycombe Road Neutral Bay Terraces
By Bennett Murada Architects
A pair of gracious but delapidated boarding-house terraces are faultlessly restored and re-cut for contemporary family life, and a clever new coach-house dwelling activates the rear laneway”.
Year
2020
Location
Neutral Bay NSW
Size
480sm
Team
Maryanne Taskovski, Fiona Blades, Sarah Canavan, Gabriela Reitmaier, John Wilkin, Dom Bennett
Photographer
Brett Boardman / Simon Wood
It’s difficult to reconcile the ‘before’ shots with the finished result at what used to be a boarding house on Lower Wycombe Road, Neutral Bay. These two Victorian houses, concealed behind rough timber facades that had been crudely added to, benefit from a 520-square-metre site and a short walk to the Neutral Bay ferry.
The property was purchased by a local developer who could see the potential of the property, including rear access from a laneway, and was keen to restore the homes and make them worthy of the heritage streetscape. And to ensure it was also a profitable exercise, the rear garden was partially given over to a new coach house, designed in similar bricks, with, like the two terraces, individual garages and courtyard-style gardens. Bennett Murada Architects worked closely with heritage architect Noel Bell Ridley Smith (NBRS) and landscape architects Wyer & Co.
While the facades of the two terraces, with their arched entrances and leadlight glass, could be salvaged, along with the two front rooms in each, the rear of each terrace was well beyond repair. And so, past the original plaster arched corridor, the passage opens to an open plan kitchen, dining and living areas, each opening to the rear terrace. And upstairs, there’s now two bedrooms and a study, with direct access to the front landing via French-style doors, complete with new timber balustrades evocative of the Victorian period.
The coach house, as it’s referred to (approximately 110 square metres in area) and with its front door accessed from the laneway, also features an open plan kitchen, dining and living area on the ground floor,with two bedrooms and a study above - each room benefiting from traditional dormer-style windows. And unlike the Victorian buildings, often dark and quite sombre, each of the three dwellings in now light-filled and suited for contemporary living.
From the street, what could be saved was – such as the lead light windows and the distinctive chimney pots on the roof (new terracotta tiles were laid on the roof). The once overgrown garden was reworked with stepped garden beds due to the change in the level of the terrain as well now having a clear view of the majestic gum tree in a neighbour’s front garden.
Professionals used in
Lower Wycombe Road Neutral Bay Terraces
More projects from
Bennett Murada Architects
About the
Professional
Our architecture is about simple things executed beautifully. While our buildings may look different to each other, they all embody the same principles of sensual experience, sustainability, honesty of materials, construction credibility and distinction.
We are positive, responsive, and easy to work with. We gauge success by consistently developing successful ongoing relationships with those involved in our projects. We understand that an important part of our role is leading, motivating and igniting a sense of ownership across the design team. Experience has taught us that best results are achieved when all stakeholder contexts are aligned, communication is open and clear, expert input is integrated accurately, and mutual respect is won.
There is little room for ego at BMA. Our design process is genuinely collaborative, with Project Directors engaging with our broadly skilled and experienced team of 15 staff to deliver richly diverse and unique projects every time.
We also actively promote working in a collaborative environment with our clients, authorities, consultants, builders, suppliers and other team members to arrive at are fined, efficient and beautiful result.
We value not only innovative and inspirational design at a project’s inception, but rigour, clarity and accuracy during our design development, documentation, tender and construction processes.
We are skilled in the art of balancing aspirations and pragmatics, and consider cost, programme and build ability integral to the design development process. We test our design decisions against these parameters regularly and actively promote the same within the design team.
We are successfully engaged in a broad range of project types and scales, including houses, urban housing, commercial and industrial projects, and resort hospitality.
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