Background

This large new home for a family of 5 is set within the heart of the historic Sydney suburb of Strathfield in the sensitive Redmyre heritage conservation area. The brief was to design a singular and striking home to fit its context but with a contemporary interior.

Context

The house is an infill on a large block – formerly the site of a tennis court and picturesque Summerhouse adjacent to ‘Springfort’ which was built in 1894 to a design by architect George Sydney Jones for its owner, accountant Alexander Reith Troup.

Exterior walls

To ground the house, the basecourse was laid with the crisp Gertrudis brown mix face brick by the consistently reliable Bowral Bricks. The special profiled bricks formed a splayed plinth and also decorative string courses at waist level and first floor.

Roof

As  architects, we decided the roof should be pitched and hipped with traditional detailing and modern touches rather than a free form or flat roof.  Slate or dark tile Marseille roofs are also common within this milieu.

The clients preferred the sleek, refined shape of the Planum profile but, as architects, we set the roof pitches with an eye to creating not only a highly weatherproof design but a worthy addition to Strathfield’s traditional mansions. Hence the steeply pitched front hipped form with its twin projecting gables over two storied bays which frame the central front entry.

Due to its innovative design and size, the Planum tile is easier and faster to install which was ideal on a roof where the steepest pitch was set at 46 degrees. The rear hip roof was set at 38 degrees to enable the build to be within the Council’s height plane. The H-shaped plan with lower pitched [at 20 degrees] central link,  meant that long valleys were cut, and contemporary elements such as Photo-voltaic panels  and Velux skylights were easily affixed.

Conclusion

Magisterial in character, this graceful home sits happily amongst Strathfield’s grandest homes, its pitched tile roof an essential and key element of the design.