An Impactful Family Home - Extruded House
Identifying the silhouette of their Federation fronted home as inspiration, Extruded House is a bold play on formality and the residential typology. Architect Steve Koolloos of MCK Architecture and Interiors speaks to the process.
Modest reinstation of the existing federation style home sees the extension as a literal extrusion of the overall form. So the pitch of the roof and its resulting silhouette of the original is the primary inspiration for the form of the addition. Overtyly Bold and reflective, in its response to the original form, Steve Koolloos says, “The solid bones of a federation-esq home have been retained and improved to provide a logical flow of circulation through the private parts of the home, where spaces are provided to allow family members to find the quiet, or the solitude needed at the end of a busy day.” Restrospectivley, he says, it was a play on contrasts and subtleties; “The Extruded House was a modest project from the outset, yet with a bold conclusion. Recently I have been reminded that in modesty and hiding behind humble facades, there can be triumph.”
Yearning to design a home for a growing young family of five, there is a sense of uninterrupted transition as you move through zones. Steve reflects on this intentional ease of movement, “is purposed to draw towards the expectation of something much grander.” An almost opening-up of the bones of the original, the rear façade sees full-height glazing, filling in the extruded form, amplifying light exposure within the space. Rendered of off-form concrete, steel, glass and warm timbers, the form as Steve says, “offers a calm contrast to its historical embellishments.” Expanding further he also adds, “a strong dialogue was created between the two forms, by virtue of their sharing of a shape, but their materiality serves to remind us of their respective moment in time.” The new concrete shells also house a timber clad wall which represents the line of the old home, and where the old and new meet, highlight glazing is incorporated as a nod to the transition.
Steve Koolloos says, “The solid bones of a federation-esq home have been retained and improved to provide a logical flow of circulation through the private parts of the home, where spaces are provided to allow family members to find the quiet, or the solitude needed at the end of a busy day.”
Taking the clients on a journey of simplifying the existing, and adopting the same mentality in the proposed, the resulting form feels effortless and like a natural and deliberate evolution. The planning internally was adjusted to make sense of its owners, through simplification also. Steve says, “The brief made mention of two important design cues; respecting the context and neighbors and retaining the worthwhile fabric of the existing dwelling”. In essence, “these are simple ideas, but generous in their ultimate influence over the design approach.” With taking the existing form and extruding it, and not increasing the parameters of the existing form, Steve says, “the project did not add additional square meters, it just made sense of the existing ones.”
Designed as a home for its growing young family of five, there is a sense of uninterrupted transition as you move through zones.
Taking the clients on a journey of simplifying the existing, and adopting the same mentality in the proposed, the resulting form feels effortless and like a natural and deliberate evolution.
The Extruded House, as outlined by Steve “is now a generous volume that sits atop a modest footprint, yet without burdening the site or the context, and where emphasis was placed on its ability to make a bold statement.” Through a stripped back and simplified approach to planning, design and materiality, the result has immense impact. MCK Architecture and Interiors have successfully taken the traditional residential vernacular, and through the modest act of taking the silhouette of the built form and extruding it, have conceived a beautiful and impactful family home. Challenging the expected, and being courageous in their approach, in the end, it is the act of simplicity that won.
MCK Architecture and Interiors have successfully taken the traditional residential vernacular, and through the modest act of taking the silhouette of the built form and extruding it, have conceived a beautiful and impactful family home.
