Mosman House

Winner of Highly Commended Award

The existing sandstone terrace house is one of seven heritage listed Federation Queen Anne pairs that form an ensemble of considerable unity. The terraces are elevated and connected to the street via an unusual sandstone staircase on axis with the main hall of the house.

The rear, south-facing elevations of the terrace row have been modified over time to form an inconsistent tapestry of accumulated mess. The addition of the garden room was conceived as a counterpoint to this chaos. Black concrete, steel and glass were used to develop an atmosphere of tranquillity against the new garden that will establish over time.

A threshold was assembled using plate steel to provide a sharpness against the vegetation. The significant depth of the steel acts as a potent spatial transition from inside to outside.

The operable sliding windows that allow fragrances from the waist-height garden to penetrate the new room.

Sustainability

A critical component of long-term sustainability is the process of retention. Retaining and upgrading existing fabric to reduce the overall embodied energy. Here, we sought to retain as much of the existing fabric as possible whilst introducing a series of low-tech measures that radically improve the performance of the house.