BENT Annexe

BENT Annexe is a single-storey addition to a 1960s house in Pascoe Vale South, Melbourne, designed by BENT Architecture for a family of four and their two dachshunds. The brief was to add living space while reconnecting the home to its garden, and the design takes its cue from the simple pleasure of stepping out of a caravan into the shade of a canvas annexe that frames the landscape beyond.

Where the original house was heavy and inward-looking, the new annexe is light in weight and full of daylight, reading more as a sheltered place in the garden than a conventional living room. Ad-hoc additions at the rear were stripped back to leave the generously proportioned original rooms as a base. The annexe then tucks under the existing eaves, with new spaces wrapping around the old house and drawn together by a single roofline that folds overhead.

The original rooms have been restored to hold the bedrooms, while a separate living area occupies the front room, making use of its corner windows and a feature fireplace. The new living spaces sit close to the outdoors. Brick walls to the east and west screen the open-plan rooms from neighbouring properties and turn attention back towards the garden.

A central courtyard separates the addition from the original house, placing greenery on both sides. As well as improving cross-ventilation and drawing north light into the master bedroom, full-height glazing on either side of the living area makes the courtyard read as part of one continuous space, blurring the line between inside and out. A brick plinth at seat height runs from the living room out into the garden, and brick paving carries across the threshold to reinforce the connection. A window seat projects from the dining room, bathed in north light, while the annexe opens onto a decked outdoor dining area shaded by a retractable device, with a circular plunge pool close by.

The house is passively designed to reduce reliance on mechanical heating and cooling. High-level windows in the living area capture the sky and let north light reach deep into the plan, warming the concrete floors, while louvre windows open to encourage cross-breezes in summer.

The project occupies 207 square metres on a 535 square metre site and was completed in 2018.

Architect: BENT Architecture (Ian Wilson, with project director Paul Porjazoski, project architect Lana Blazanin, and design team Merran Porjazoski and Tilde Sheppard). Builder: Poles-A-Part Design and Construction. Structural engineer: Marcon and Tedesco O'Neill. Photography: Tatjana Plitt.