Epping House

Architect

William Phelps

Location

Epping

Completion

2000

Located in a Heritage Conservation Area, the alterations and additions to this largely untouched Californian bungalow provide additional accommodation for the clients’ family while improving the relationship of the house with the north-facing rear garden. The existing roofline is extended towards the rear of the house, with the two-storey addition nestled below. This strategy preserves the existing streetscape by ensuring the addition is not visible from the street.

The addition comprises an open plan living area and kitchen on the ground floor, 3 children’s bedrooms on the first floor, as well as associated utility areas and bathrooms. Glazed bi-fold doors to the living areas maximise the physical and visual connection of the house with the garden, and are recessed under the floor above to provide shading that admits direct sunlight to internal spaces during the winter months while excluding it during summer.

The materials palette for the addition is sympathetic to the original house, and includes face brick to match the existing brickwork, semi-glazed terracotta roof tiles, fibre cement cladding, and timber-framed windows and doors.