Bill's House is a project that is close to one of Fabric Architecture Studio’s directors’ heart, a considered re-imagining of the tired family home to which was a classic red brick 1970's piece of Australiana.

Not wanting to unsustainably discard the original home, Director Damien Furey’s approach was taken to touch as little of the existing structure as possible and let the design organically grow out of the existing form. This approach was both cost effective and was crucial in creating a unique design that responds to the surrounding feature angophora and respecting the original house.

The thermally modified sustainable timber cladding and batten screening is varied in a way that responds to the internal layout providing both privacy and connecting to light and nature where required. Partnered with the hard wearing Barestone cladding, the north facing facade's external palette takes cues from the surrounding bushland while remaining low maintenance.

Architecture & Design: Can you describe the initial vision for this project and how it evolved over time?

Damien Furey: Like most 1970s builds (and a classic slice of Australiana), the original Shakespeare House was structurally sound but a little tired, prompting myself (Fabric Architecture) to reuse the existing form, beginning the redesign from the inside out. Looking to keep as much of the good bones as possible to save cost and maximise the transformation.

Despite the bones being kept, aim was to show little sign of the brick beginnings, with the new external palette of Timber Cladding / Screening alongside Barestone prefinished panels giving way to new openings onto the landscaping as well as light-filled, modern interior spaces that connect to the site.

The large windows were placed to view greenery including the established angophora tree to the street and the materiality, specifically timber cladding, blends seamlessly with the Australian bush while the native gardens seek to give back what was originally taken away by suburbia.

What were the biggest challenges you faced during the design and construction phases, and how did you overcome them?

This process above led to a natural evolution that was flexible and allowed me to work within the ever changing financial crisis that was brought on post COVID-19 with rapidly changing material and labor prices coupled with material shortages. By growing outward from the original house and keeping the form simple, prioritising connection over articulation, the simplicity of palette and form stretched the budget and careful and early resourcing minimised delays.

Were there any unique or innovative techniques or materials used in this project?

The Abodo sustainable timber cladding and screening is varied and responds to the internal layout by creating private balconies, gardens and privacy connected to light and nature where required, in addition to that, from a practical point of view, the feedback from the builder on using the Abodo cladding and screening was wholly positive due to its stability, light weight and tolerance.

The usual timber acclimatisation process was non-existent, compared to standard hardwood. From an architectural perspective, Abodo’s colour stain range and profiles also provide a wide array of design opportunities which was perfect for the design driver of working with and reflecting the beautiful Angophora in the front yard.

How does this project fit into your broader portfolio and design philosophy?

The house for me further enhances our portfolio and philosophy of creating architecture that is unique to site while being highly reflective of the clients brief and personality. One of our main drivers is that we feel the most successful projects have both an openness and specificity, so that change may occur but the fundamental ideas remain intact.

This leads us to putting our own spin on the clients ideas and brief which leads to a highly collaborative process. As mentioned, being my own house I really let the addition grow from the original house, looked at what we as a family needed from it in how we live and then applied the site constraints and worked with them, not against.

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