Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Architects brief

Surprisingly for us, Mike and I actually agreed on a couple of things. One was to get an architect involved in the revamp. Secondly, which architect. Maybe we've grown up?

So I got in touch with Shane Blue from Bourne + Blue Architecture (www.bourneblue.com.au) whose work we've admired for some time. He specialises in eco friendly homes, with lots of timber, louvre windows and northern orientation featuring in most of his designs. Right up our alley.

We decided to rent the Redhead place out for 6 months to allow time to complete the finishing touches to our current house (prior to selling it) and get the plans through Lake Macquarie City Council. Apparently the LMCC phase could take a while.

First up Shane said don't wait until the house purchase settles - he and a surveyor should both get in there asap to take all the necessary measurements and photos for the concept and DA.

Not long after the house settled we had our first face to face meeting with Shane, and we also met Claire, one of the project architects working for him. At this meeting we handed over a combined wishlist with mandatory and preferred items. Basically Shane needed a packed lunch to get through it. This is what it looked like:


Key targets

Strong connection with the outdoors
Warmth, light, privacy
Solar passive design - northern orientation, eaves, cross ventilation etc
Cohesian between existing house and additions
Low maintenance

Things we love:

Clever design
Creative use of inexpensive materials
Polished concrete
Asian style/way of living (see pics attached)
Window highlights
High ceilings
Louvre windows (with flyscreens)
Large sliding doors preferred over bifolds to outdoor area (like boomerang house)
Recycled timber accents
Ply eaves/ ceiling / wall panels
Fibre cement / weathertex / corrugated iron cladding

Mandatory

4 bedrooms incl. master
Open plan living/dining/kitchen
Master with ensuite incl. bath
Bathroom close to kids rooms
Multi-purpose room to accommodate desk/book storage / tv / sofa bed
Fans throughout
Covered outdoor entertaining area
Outdoor shower

Preferred

Skullery/pantry area and separate laundry off kitchen
Plenty of light in master bedroom, WIR, shower separate to bath in ensuite
Ensuite with outdoor outlook (maybe can open to outdoors somehow)
Skylights in areas where don’t need blockout - laundry/skullery/bathrooms
Separate loo near main living area
Kids rooms not visible to visitors entering
Kids bathroom to have separate WC
No need for air conditioning (in extension)
Concealed clothesline
Big laundry
Lots of storage
2 car garaging
Outdoor area adjacent to living area
Few as possible levels

Storage considerations:

Kitchen - primarily for entertaining and cooking
Some cooking ingredients eg sauces/herbs
Appliances etc - sink/stove/oven/fridge/coffee machine/kettle
Good storage for waste & recycling - concealed sliding bins
Plasticware, serving platters, cutlery, glassware, bakingware
Freestanding bench with room for 3 barstools

Skullery/pantry - primarily for storage and preparation 

Most cooking ingredients and bulk food
Small appliances eg toaster, griller, breadmaker, dishwasher
Good crockery & cutlery
Wine storage
Storage for paperwork - file drawers, corkboard
Cleaning equipment, drawers for medical, sewing, giftwrap etc
Linen eg tablecloths napkins, tea towels

Don't like:
Sameness
Stacked stone/aubergine/curved roves
Too many different roof lines
Houses that show off - complicated design for sake of it
Flies/mossies
Big/lots of rooms that don’t get used
Low ceilings

And we also handed over a collage of inspirational images, including our favourite from Shane's prior projects. Here it is:

Modern asian street appeal

environmentally friendly aspect / connection with outdoors




lots of timber accents


warm industrial aesthetic
Outdoor shower a must!

2 comments:

  1. Hi Kim,
    Thanks for sharing the renovation process with us. We very much look forward to the journey ahead - I know how much I enjoyed the last one!!! My favourite part of your wishlist "Kids rooms not visible to visitors entering". Mel x

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  2. Sorry I've only just see your post from ages ago! Yes that was a must. They haven't gotten any better at keeping their rooms tidy!

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