Totoro House

Named after Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro, this Sydney home takes the film's themes of family, friendship and nature as its starting point. CplusC Architects + Builders designed the project around the clients' close family bond, the relationship between the people who live there and the way the house meets its landscape.

To express that bond, the design strips away internal boundaries and draws the living, dining and kitchen into a single interwoven space. Walls that once separated these rooms are reworked as a vertical threshold that keeps the family together even while everyone is doing something different. Sections of the extension push outward to create sheltered areas for outdoor living, cooking and seating, easing the transition between house and courtyard.

A circular motif runs from the dining area to a large window in the living space that looks onto the rear courtyard, a framed view between inside and out drawn from the Japanese principle of Shakkei. Part of the window is operable for cross ventilation, and its frame doubles as a seat for young children, fitted with two layers of blinds, one solid and one translucent, for control over light and privacy.

The house reads as three zones: the private quarters of the original dwelling, the living space in the new extension, and the courtyard and garden. The existing home retains its two bedrooms, a master with en-suite, a guest room and a bathroom, all renewed to match the standard of the extension while keeping the original layout largely intact.

Topography had previously cut the house off from the rear yard. The extension becomes the missing link, stepping occupants gradually down from the private bedrooms to the outdoor spaces and garden. Its form was shaped with the neighbours in mind so that none lost light or privacy, and with the new volume mostly hidden behind the retained federation-period frontage, only glimpses of the playful spaces beyond are visible from the street. What were dark, gloomy rooms are now a light-filled, open-plan living area.

Because so much of the extension turns on the link between built form and garden, CplusC worked closely with the landscape designer to soften that threshold, planting natives and climbers that will in time wrap over the master bedroom facade. Acting as architect, builder and on-site documenter gave the practice a level of detail resolution rarely possible in conventional delivery. A furniture stylist and vintage supplier helped accentuate the interior's Mid-Century character.

Material decisions reflect the practice's environmental focus. The brass cladding around the circular window was set out so it could be cut from just two standard sheets, with the off-cuts folded back into the design to reinforce the circular motif. Demolished sandstone foundations were reused in the garden to extend the material's life and cut waste. A 3kW photovoltaic system and an 8,000-litre rainwater tank support the family's sustainable day-to-day life.

The single-level home covers 277 m² on a 691 m² site and was completed in 2019.

Architect and builder: CplusC Architects + Builders. Photography: Ryan Ng and Murray Fredericks. Interior styling: Jase Sullivan. Landscape: Bell Landscapes.