Purposefully Uncomplicated - Camp Hill House by Twohill and James Architecture

Project Feature

Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Twohill and James Architecture’s Camp Hill House is an example of respectfully transforming a traditional weatherboard cottage simply and beautifully to make way for a series of integrated internal and garden spaces.

Delightfully unassuming, the approach Twohill and James Architecture have taken with Camp Hill House seems to streamline and simplify the extension and renovation process. Whether intended or accidental, their intervention seems purposefully uncomplicated, stripping the usual fuss and resulting in a series of spaces that seem planned as part of the original dwelling. The original weatherboard cottage was renovated, and its bones retained, to then open to a series of living and garden spaces that have been integrated with an enviable ease.

The approach Twohill and James Architecture have taken with Camp Hill House seems to streamline and simplify the extension and renovation process.

The project is a play on spatial efficiencies with an intent to allow for a flexible level of functionality and programming throughout. Both the internal and external spaces are planned to challenge the traditional residential typology and the way we habitually utilise space in a residential setting. From the planning and separation, to the external arrangement of objects and furniture, the architects have aimed to allow for a reinterpretation of space, and how the owners use it.

The existing timber clad-cottage is the obvious core of palette and material inspiration, further emphasising the feeling that the extension was part of the original design intent. The extension sees a replanning of the internal spaces and opportunities throughout to engage with pockets of landscape. The new point of entry is flipped via a linear entry courtyard, making a statement about entering the home in the middle, instead of being anchored purely at one end. Visitors then enter the home at the mid-level, between the rear garden and upper living rooms.

The original weatherboard cottage was renovated, and its bones retained, to then open to a series of living and garden spaces that have been integrated with an enviable ease.

Integrating garden and elements of life throughout of the internal spaces makes it a part of the experience of moving through the home, where a series of outdoor rooms are created. Most prominently is the outdoor terrace, with exposed trellis and climbing plants for training. This space is integral to bringing a sense of the organic and natural elements into the home footplate.

Twohill and James Architecture have cleverly interpreted their clients’ need for a revised internal planning scheme, and also grasped opportunities to bring a sense of life into the existing cottage. The resulting Camp Hill House is one that has softened edges and paused moments, where the architecture is focused both inward and outward.