This project involves restoration and alteration to the existing Edwardian house, and the demolition and construction at the rear of a new addition. The transparency and openness of the new part is a deliberate counterpoint to the introverted Edwardian house with its dark central corridor. The intention was to create an “inside is outside is inside” environment, where inside and outside spaces were interchangeable elements. The project evokes a certain reference to the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe, and many courtyard houses in Melbourne by McGlashan and Everist.

The two mature Elm and Willow became the constraints to the project. They informed the arrangement of our new addition, and together with passive solar orientation the result is a U-shaped plan enclosing a north-facing courtyard. The structure is suspended over the ground to avoid damaging the critical root zones of the two trees. The concrete floor and roof slabs are meticulously detailed, with significant input from our structural engineer, to appear and feel light, floaty and airy – a dialectic relationship between weight and material. This quality is enhanced by a skeletal structure of “skin and bones”, in which the non load-bearing glass sliding windows become a mere breathing skin between occupants and the outside world.

Internal planning strategies were devoted to the spatial hierarchy, through interplay of inner and outer, and sequencing of spaces. The link between the old and new is merged into the layering of spaces where inside and outside become one – the transparency of the borders separating interior and exterior allows the eye to perceive other elements that create the spatial order: fences, trees, stones, woods, clouds and borrowed landscape.

The addition has a passive ventilation system, whereby louver windows promote cross ventilation. The building materials specified are non-toxic and from renewable resources. The concrete structure provides thermal mass to the house with the slabs further insulated to minimise heat loss. All glazing is double-glazed to provide comfort to the interior, and the deciduous trees provide essential shading to the house during summer. Energy and water-saving fittings have been used throughout and rain water is harvested for use in the gardens. A new carport with grid-connect solar power panels is in the design process.

SKYCOURT is an ambitious renovation project that involved transforming a Japan “bubble era” house into a modern home connected to the city and the sunlight. The house is located in a quiet residential area, a couple of blocks away from Tokyo’s business district. The original house plan was a dated two storey house with cramped bedrooms, small windows with no indoor/outdoor flow. The clients, a working couple with two children, wanted to maximize the living space, create a backyard with privacy and develop a structure flooded with light.

As the original house was part of a set of twin houses, the clients also wanted to decorate the facade in order to severe the link with the sibling. These requirements demanded bold renovations. The house was lovingly given a name: The COURT that was created during the renovation bathes the home with soft light and allows its occupants to gaze at the SKY. The answer to the clients’ demands, a light filled home where one can feel connected and yet away from the city, is the definition of SKY COURT.