The St Peters House II was designed by Kreis Grennan Architecture and is built at the rear of a narrow lot in the Sydney suburb of St Peters. The client’s backyard provided a new site for his new freestanding home. The original dwelling remained, creating additional accommodation and a sensible approach to increased urban residential density.
The ground of the site is clay, the same clay that is the source of the bricks for most buildings in the area.
The local brick pit, now a park, provided the materials for much of the neighbourhood. Brick was thus a logical choice in connecting to the site and ground while also addressing the durability and the aesthetic needs of the architect’s client.
A selection of six bricks were chosen and mixed on site by Mark Jolley and his team.
Rising from the compact base of the building, the visually lively mix was celebrated by with a dark grey mortar joint. The solid nature of the front, where the building is shaped like a solid block, is eroded to the garden where the compact footprint is manipulated to work around the beautiful mature trees.
Limiting the footprint was essential to preserve the garden and the beautiful existing trees. The volume was modulated to relate to the ground, street context and trees.
A covered hardstand, workshop, laundry and study are located on the lower ground floor, On the upper ground floor there is an open plan living platform connected to the street and garden.
Under the roof are two bedrooms and bathrooms. One bedroom is a flexible space that can also be used for exercising or for guest accommodation.
This is a humble new home made with humble and robust materials.
The steel frame and painted bricks are legible and straight-forward. Craft and detail are particularly present in the items that are touched such as the custom joinery handles, purpose-built, solid timber kitchen bench and integrated joinery.
Project Details
Completion date – 2020
Building levels – 3
Project Team
Architecture
Kreis Grennan Architecture
Kreis Grennan Architecture is a creative collaboration between architect & licensed builder Christian Grennan, and project manager and property developer Chris Kreis. With these complementary skills and over 20 years of experience, KGA provides the best possible integrated services in architecture, urban design, project management and property development.
Photography
Douglas Frost
Photo Gallery
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