11. Huon Road Residence

This project is a renovation to an old cottage on the way up to Kunanyi / Mount Wellington in Hobart, Tasmania. The house is nestled in a disused quarry cutting on the side of a hill, and is re-used in this project to reduce landfill and provide an anchor point for the new work.

 

The first move was to design a new living space that projects out from the existing cottage; floating out horizontally as the terrain falls away down the hill. The new living space is a built on a suspended concrete slab with a dark terrazzo finish to absorb the tenuous rays of sunlight in winter months, and warm the room with solar energy. The ceiling slopes up, allowing the sunlight to penetrate the double glazed windows and reach into the back of the room, maximising the thermal heat gain and making the most of the spectacular views to the mountain beyond. The junction between the old and new roofs create a box gutter, and overflow of rainwater cascades down in front of a glass panel like the flow of a mountain stream.

 

The next move was to design a new master bedroom and ensuite which is tucked back in to the contours of the quarry cut; and provides the opportunity for a rumpus/yoga room above. The external wall to the ensuite shower is a glass opening that reveals the face of rock that the quarry work has left behind.