A Contemporary Response to a Classic Californian Bungalow- Coburg House By Lisa Breeze Architect

“Before we arrived, the homeowners had restored the front of the house with utmost respect and were seeking guidance to create functional, and beautiful spaces with plenty of natural light in a small footprint,” says Lisa. The clients were looking to expand the house, but only slightly, and endeavoured to make the most practical and efficient use of the interior possible. Lisa, together with her team, converted the old living-room into a walk-through laundry, bathroom, and powder room. Meanwhile, the kitchen remained in the same position, yet had a comprehensive overhaul, and the rest of the house was opened up for the meals, living, and informal study space. Typically, Californian bungalows are quite wide, so the clients were keen to obtain as much natural light into the home as possible and, of course, gain more storage space.

Visual and physical connections to the backyard were limited before the renovation, so the new openings enhance natural light, ventilation, access, and views. As a result of this approach, the extension at the rear end of the home that accompanied the new living, meals, and kitchen was the section in which Lisa played with the ceiling forms “to create spaces within spaces and used several skylights to bring soft natural light into the centre of the home,” she says.

One of the main challenged for Coburg House was fitting the design brief into the desired footprint. The clients had a specific list of requirements that they wanted to achieve in a set amount of space. In saying this, Lisa believes it is the architect’s responsibility to respond to these sorts of challenges through the design process, while at the same time working with the owners. Coburg House is a key example of this, and it was “resolved beautifully and served its purpose,” with the prescribed limitations on space understood as a “happy challenge”. Ultimately, the brief was achieved through a combination of re-purposing the existing spaces and adding a small extension to the side and back of the home.

With an efficient use of space and attention to sustainable design principles, the Coburg House pays homage to the form of the original Californian bungalow, while responding to the imperatives of contemporary city living.