The scope of the project was simply the addition of a Main Bedroom (en-suite), Re-designing the Kitchen and adding an Outdoor Living Area.
Even though it presented some major Functional Problems, charmed by this early 20th Century Baker School Residence, Daan & Liza Zeeman saw the potential and immediately purchased the property. Apart from some previous minor Alterations and the conversion of the old Service Entrance, on the West, into a Bathroom and the conversion of the Garage into a Guest Room, the house was in its original condition.
The major problem that presented itself was the isolated Kitchen that merely served as a Service Space in the back of the House. It was also cold with no Solar Access. For the clients, avid entertainers, this was the complete opposite of what they regarded the most important requirement for their new home. They made it very clear that they didn’t want to change the Existing Structure as it represented all they loved in terms of the lifestyle they got used to living in a Historic Home on a farm just outside
The basic scheme was to convert the existing Main Bedroom into a Kitchen, add a New Main Bedroom and a Veranda that would also become a unifying element linking the Old and New Structures. A “Floating Concrete Block” which doesn’t touch the original Structure was added to become the Main Bedroom (en-suite). Utilizing Frameless Glass Walls reduced the materiality of the links to the existing structure.
The Site was sub-divided in the eighties leaving little “Breathing Space” for the building. Corners were opened up to enhance the Link to the Outside, thus realizing the Latent potential of the Garden to become an Extension of the home.
A Timber Veranda, slightly overlapping the Existing Structure was bolted to the Existing Structure and projects into the Garden, drawing in the Natural Landscape. The timeless quality of the building is further enhanced by the honest use of natural materials. Standard lengths of Laminated Saligna, bolted together, minimized waste and improved recyclability.
The “Bedroom Box” cast with self-compacting Concrete (providing an extremely smooth finish) reduce maintenance considerably. The subtle, yet contemporary intervention will enhance the timeless quality of a beautiful structure whilst providing the much needed existential interface the Clients required.
