Preston Residence

Geelong

This much loved double fronted Victorian terrace was home to our clients for many years before our commission, the brief was simply to address the shortfalls the existing layout presented, and facilitate a more contemporary lifestyle for them, within the bounds of the overall site.

Previous renovations to the rear, sought to replicate the Victorian style in a truncated extension of the original cottage. This unfortunately dwarfed the subtle scaling of the original cottage and the distinction between the new and the old was unfortunately lost.

There was also a distinct disconnect from the garden surround, and with the added inclusion of undersized Victorian scaled windows, little natural light was permitted to enter the primary living space.

Stripping back the home to its original 4 room frontage, removing the non-original elements to the rear and clearly re-defining the original cottage form, was our first obvious objective.

A new contemporary pavilion was then laid out as a completely freestanding element, subtly connected by way of a narrow glazed catwalk back to the cottage and crossing the shallows of a new swimming pool.

The bridge link signals the transition from old to new and the deliberate detachment allows one to read and enjoy both the original cottage and new pavilion in equal measure.

The annexing of the addition also allowed us to scale it appropriately as the primary family living space, place it within the garden surround and allow it to establish its own contemporary presence.

An abundance of natural light now filters into the new pavilion throughout the day, and strong connections are made between it and the outdoor.