Sub Urban Reconfiguration

The architecture of the house is perceived as extending beyond the margin of its immediate boundaries and contributing diversity to the character of the neighbourhood it sits in. The project is a garage conversion which involved the reorientation of the site entrance and thus procession to the threshold. This was achieved by relocating the entrance gates and providing a private south-facing outdoor space in the garden in the location of the former drive way. This space is linked to the new interior in a manner that provides a seamless extension from inside to outside.

The brief was to provide an additional living space by the conversion of the garage. The scheme is driven by its relationship with nature, making a physical link to the external environment. This is achieved by creating a spatial continuity between interior and exterior by the projection of the horizontal plane of the ceiling beyond the enclosure, and by the continuation of the floor plane to the exterior. The opening of the pivot door, an element which is both inside and outside reinforces this. Enclosure is created by the strategic placement of planes, positioned to manipulate light penetration allowing different luminance during the course of the day and the seasons. This creates awareness in the occupant of the nature of the path of light. The architectural concept is a “light time clock ".

The project subverts the current perceptions of suburban retrofit by reestablishing passive or perceived surveillance of the public realm. It thus makes for a safer neighborhood. If a city is a house a room is a place.