The client for this project was a local Torquay surfboard shaper — and that single fact defined the entire design.
The brief
A two-storey addition to an existing Torquay home. The challenge, as always with upper-level additions, was to differentiate new from existing while ensuring the whole reads as a coherent building.
The design response
Rather than the conventional approach of matching or contrasting materials, we looked to the client's own craft for the answer. The upper-level addition is designed as a slice through the existing house — its profile referencing the slender, tapering curves of a surfboard. The form is subtle enough that many people don't consciously read the reference, but it gives the addition a distinctiveness that generic approaches never achieve.
Materials
Vertical cypress pine board and batten was chosen to clad the new work — creating a clear material distinction from the existing house while remaining completely appropriate to the Torquay coastal context. The knotty, textured surface casts ever-changing shadows as the sun moves across it, and will silver and age gracefully over time. In twenty years, it will look better than it does today.
The outcome
A home that genuinely reflects its owner — a piece of local craft culture built into the architecture of a Torquay street.
Type: Upper level addition Location: Torquay, Surf Coast Services: Architectural design, planning permit, documentation
Planning an extension in Torquay? Call Jeremy on 0402 952 810 for a free initial conversation.
