Set on a steep waterfront site, this late Victorian Sydney cottage has been reimagined with bold clarity.

The name Wurrungwuri, meaning “the side of the river”, captures the spirit of its rebirth. The house becomes a tectonic interplay of light, shade, and material, dissolving boundaries between old and new, inside and outside.

Rather than a static renovation, it is a narrative of shifting perspectives, where thresholds blur and space unfolds with a sense of discovery.

Wurrungwuri is a house designed not simply to contain art, but to become a living artwork in itself. The cylindrical staircase, sculptural and commanding, establishes the tone: a central axis where structure, movement, and visual delight converge.

Every element of the design is approached as an opportunity to create an artistic encounter, where daily life becomes entwined with aesthetic experience.

Its sandstone base, hewn from the escarpment, anchors the house firmly in its heritage, while new architectural gestures reach outward to embrace the harbour.

The design negotiates steep topography with elegance, carving spatial experiences that are both monumental and intimate.

The new plan cleaves into two wings, each extending toward the water, creating a dialogue between harbour and home. Across these levels, rooms are interwoven, resisting rigid hierarchies of public and private.

Instead, spaces transition fluidly, from open, social gathering points to secluded retreats, infused with both playfulness and gravitas.

The architectural language oscillates between contrasts: heaviness and lightness, permanence and change, intimacy and grandeur. This duality extends to the relationship between past and present.

While many projects attempt to fuse heritage and modern design, Wurrungwuri feels different, less about contrast or mimicry, and more about weaving time into a continuous fabric.

The old is not simply preserved, and the new is not merely imposed. Instead, both are allowed to converse, each amplifying the other’s presence.

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