This federation terrace house renovation was for one of Sydney’s top exotic veterinarians specializing in the care of lizards and turtles.
The brief required maintaining the front façade, bedrooms and bathroom, adding an upper storey bedroom and remodeling ground floor living spaces. A private roof garden off the new bedroom was introduced to utilize the often forgotten roof space and create a private sunny elevated courtyard with ample opportunities to grow extra herbs and veggies.
The floor between the upper story deck and the living spaces below peels open in three places to allow natural sunlight and breezes into the living areas of the terrace, seeking light and oxygen like some of the unique pets that occupy the house.
Two areas bathed in natural light from the delineation between floor and roof, are the linear staircase and kitchen bench top, which extend out to a turtle pond in the backyard. These linear elements are banked to the side of the building allowing large sliding doors to create a seamless open space for the indoor and outdoor living areas.
The controversial components of the design were successfully negotiated with council through the Pre-Development Application process to achieve DA approval.
