JJ House as part of Sydney's suburbs. Recovery of an old cottage

House redesign tailored to the family's needs

The clients of Australian architecture firm Bokey Grant sought a family-friendly design for their young family's needs in the JJ House project. They desired a home that provided spaciousness, privacy, and a strong connection to nature and the sky. They wanted a sense of spaciousness, privacy and connection to nature and the sky in JJ House. The original red brick cottage, originally part of the 1920 Durrell's Estate in Lilyfield, Sydney's Inner West, had suffered neglect, carelessness and questionable

Bridging past and present through design

To create the new JJ House, the designer is aiming to undo some of these interventions, sensitively stitching the building back together and celebrating its original architectural texture. The junction between old and new is recognized through a frame that seamlessly integrates them

Minimalist upgrades for cottage revival

The intention of the project is the preservation of the original form of the cottage; alterations are designed to maximize the latent qualities of the house. The minimalist approach to new interventions is a search for balance between renovating the house while maintaining a sense of belonging to history. Traditional light fixtures, "cathedral glass," tile and woodwork are transformed into details of a contemporary setting

Garden-centric design redefines living space

The new focus of the cottage becomes the garden, which personifies in JJ House the central room toward which all interior spaces are reoriented and organized around it. A number of carefully placed sight lines take advantage of the garden view and capture natural light. Transitions between the pre-existing structure and the new reflect the new use of the cottage,but ensure that each threshold is deep and low so that the transition between spaces is a substantial and conscious experience