Celebrating Spatial Experience - Lilyfield House by Studio 203
Connected through a central atrium, Lilyfield House is grounded on connection and inward introspection. Studio 203 has crafted an existing shop-front in Sydney’s inner west into a family home that celebrates spatial experience.
Spread over three levels, the driving principles behind Lilyfield House are grounded in a sense of connection – between spaces and volumes, a connection to the existing and its history, and for its family of occupants. The new works involve the alterations and addition to an existing shop-front, retaining the existing and reassembling integral remnants throughout. The connecting volume, the atrium, is deliberately central and is the pivot point for all new volumes that cascade around it. Throughout, there is a strong fusing of the old and new, in space, scale reference and materiality. Studio 203 has carefully curated these vestiges and connected them through light and circulation.
Completed in 2018 on a site just under 290 square metres, the integration with garden and landscaped elements was key. On such a size-restricted site, the connection to living elements of air, light and ventilation drove the energy efficiency of the home. The result is a home that uses less electricity than a one-person household, which in itself is enviable. From the insulation, glazing, water collection and retention, purposed ventilation routes and use of thermal mass for heating and cooling, it is the central atrium and its connection to the many gardens and volumes that binds these sustainable initiatives. The clever combination of materiality selection, punctuations to façade and control of air and circulation all work together to achieve this living and breathing result.
Spread over three levels, the driving principles behind Lilyfield House are grounded in a sense of connection.
From the streetscape, the existing façade stands uninterrupted, and the volume that emerges behind is intended to mimic the idea of a public path rising from its main entry. On ascent, the floor plan then reduces, creating more intimate spaces, all connected through the atrium, and outward-looking to views beyond. The smaller intimate spaces are supplemented with larger, more generous, living spaces. The landscaped areas are then additional outdoor rooms, allowing for an extension to the internal zones and to bring a direct connection to something living inward.
The new works involve the alterations and addition to an existing shop-front.
Throughout, the approach to materiality was simple and based on notions of reduction, both in terms of sustainability and contextual appropriateness. A combination of white set render connects the façade to the existing building, and new off-form concrete, bamboo flooring and hoop ply pine add warmth and an element of textural richness. The connection to the existing is expressed in many ways, and the robustness of the materiality is a clear indicator of this, through the use of steel, stone flooring and the interwoven existing elements.
Studio 203 has carefully curated these vestiges and connected them through light and circulation.
Studio 203 through their work have consciously crafted a design that links its current family to its history and to the site. Lilyfield House’s many internal spatial volumes create a home that mirrors and celebrates spatial experience.
