Reclaimed, rebuilt
This is an excerpt from an article in Sanctuary magazine issue 19.
The subtle eco features of this Adelaide renovation save energy in more ways than one.
Words Robin Barton
Photography Sarah Long
It was with a twinge of guilt that Jane Cox and her partner David Wright decided to knock down the back of their bluestone cottage and its antiquated extension. They’d lived for nine years in the 19th century property in a local heritage zone a walkable distance east of Adelaide’s city centre. But the disorganised, south-facing rear of their house, on its sloping block and with its dark kitchen, didn’t grant them easy access to the garden and didn’t suit their desire to reduce their energy consumption.
A lack of experience in project management and construction led the couple to call in architect Kirsty Hewitt of KHAB Architects, to design and manage building their new extension, including a new kitchen, dining and living area, a laundry and a bathroom. “We really liked the principles behind her work and were very open to her ideas,” says Jane. What’s more, Kirsty thought she had the sustainable solution to Jane and David’s guilty pangs over the imminent demolition: recycling materials from the demolished part of the house. A bluestone wall was salvaged and rebuilt into a garden retaining wall visible from the living area, and in the dining space rescued Baltic pine flooring was employed as a feature wall.
If you’d like to read the rest of this article you can buy this issue here.
