Woollahra Terrace
Woollahra Terrace
Hidden behind the restored facade of a narrow Woollahra terrace, this project transforms a constrained inner-city dwelling into a sequence of calm, light and landscape.
Rather than overpowering the existing home, the intervention works with its inherited rhythm and imperfections. Original proportions, masonry walls and spatial compression are retained where possible, allowing the new work to feel discovered rather than imposed.
The rear of the house opens into a softer, more fluid world of filtered light, timber, marble, planting and sky. A sculptural black steel stair becomes both structure and inhabitable object — simultaneously circulation, screen and spatial anchor. The custom waved balustrade introduces a subtle sense of movement through the otherwise restrained palette.
Large operable openings dissolve the boundary between kitchen and courtyard, allowing the garden to become part of everyday life. The outdoor room is intentionally compact yet immersive — less backyard, more internal landscape. Planting climbs walls, light washes across white masonry and the house expands psychologically beyond its physical footprint.
Materiality throughout is deliberately quiet and tactile: natural oak joinery, stone, lime-toned surfaces, aged brass and soft filtered light. The project avoids sterile minimalism in favour of warmth, shadow, texture and occupation.
Upstairs, the new addition recedes behind the original terrace form, bringing light and outlook into previously dark spaces while maintaining a respectful relationship to the surrounding streetscape.
The result is neither heritage reconstruction nor aggressively contemporary insertion. Instead, the project sits somewhere in between — a careful recalibration of an old terrace into a more elemental, breathable and connected way of living.
Hidden behind the restored facade of a narrow Woollahra terrace, this project transforms a constrained inner-city dwelling into a sequence of calm, light and landscape.
Rather than overpowering the existing home, the intervention works with its inherited rhythm and imperfections. Original proportions, masonry walls and spatial compression are retained where possible, allowing the new work to feel discovered rather than imposed.
The rear of the house opens into a softer, more fluid world of filtered light, timber, marble, planting and sky. A sculptural black steel stair becomes both structure and inhabitable object — simultaneously circulation, screen and spatial anchor. The custom waved balustrade introduces a subtle sense of movement through the otherwise restrained palette.
Large operable openings dissolve the boundary between kitchen and courtyard, allowing the garden to become part of everyday life. The outdoor room is intentionally compact yet immersive — less backyard, more internal landscape. Planting climbs walls, light washes across white masonry and the house expands psychologically beyond its physical footprint.
Materiality throughout is deliberately quiet and tactile: natural oak joinery, stone, lime-toned surfaces, aged brass and soft filtered light. The project avoids sterile minimalism in favour of warmth, shadow, texture and occupation.
Upstairs, the new addition recedes behind the original terrace form, bringing light and outlook into previously dark spaces while maintaining a respectful relationship to the surrounding streetscape.
The result is neither heritage reconstruction nor aggressively contemporary insertion. Instead, the project sits somewhere in between — a careful recalibration of an old terrace into a more elemental, breathable and connected way of living.
Country: Australia
Zip Code: 2025
