If you ask us, the stunning Brick Aperture house designed by Kris Grennan Architecture is aptly named! Like cameras of auld, its square shape and strategic window placement allows light to flow into the structure in a way that’s sure to brighten each day.
Located in Sydney, Australia, Aperture House is a single story dwelling that sits amidst a small row of period houses. It stands out from the others as a freestanding cottage, providing great contrast along the street since the row is bookended by large commercial buildings. Despite having been recently refurbished, several of the more classic details in the home still remain authentic, showing off historic looking features that are typical of Inner West Sydney.
The read of the house is comprised entirely of stunning glass windows, from roof to ground. This adds a more modern look to that angle of the dwelling, letting the front blend a little more into the aesthetic of the street. To ensure that the house doesn’t get too warm or bright for comfort in direct sunlight, the yard is flanked with several stunning, large trees that provide just the right amount of shade for comfort. They also improve the view out the kitchen and master bedroom windows!
In their redesign, architects worked with the primary goal of providing considerably more floor space than existed before. Though they wanted to keep the front of the house, with its more traditional rooms, largely the same, they worked to make the back of the house slightly more modernized and open concept, letting light spread throughout and making the whole place feel much bigger and more breathable. This process was helped along by the addition of several gorgeous skylights that make the ceilings feel high and free.
To balance out the modern feel inside the house, design teams stuck to a more traditional looking brick finish on the outside. Combined with the three chimneys of the original house and the very square shape, this red brick saves the structure from looking overly minimalist and adds a homey touch. They even made sure to use local recycled bricks to reduce the project’s environmental impact.
The bring theme we’ve mentioned above actually continues inside the house as well! Material continuity is achieved without detracting too much from the clean, white aesthetic of the modern looking interior redesign through simple brick painting. This lets the home feel updated while still enabling a visual dialogue between Aperture House and the other houses along its street. This was important to designs because it upheld the local tradition of masterful brick craftmanship that is so evident in the heritage structures of the surrounding neighbourhood.
To suit the painted white bricks on the inside, the updated parts of the house stick to a sleek, simple colour scheme. The white is speckled with pops of stark black and natural wood accents, just to save it from looking too overly modern compared to the outside of the house. In combination with the red brick and windows, the overall aesthetic is one of successful redesign and satisfactory upcycling, rather than replacing the old with the new entirely.
Photographs by: Michael Nicholson, Kreis Grennan Architecture ,
