christopher polly architect

A second design option has been prepared for Art Studio Cabin, a workspace and secondary dwelling for an artist couple at the rear of an established site in the Lower North Shore of Sydney.

Based on an intentionally compact 3.7m x 3.7m two-room grid linked by an intermediary bathroom and passage zone, this option provides a slightly longer and narrower footprint than the first design option - offering an alternative approach to the day & night configuring of the rooms, along with differing connections to the garden, surrounding tree canopy, and sky.

Concept model of one proposed design option for Art Studio Cabin - a compact, carefully controlled building intended to serve as both an art workspace and a secondary dwelling at the rear of an established site in the Lower North Shore of Sydney.

The plan is composed of two distinct ‘rooms’, arranged with economy and clarity to accommodate essential functions efficiently. In contrast to its compact footprint, it offers a generosity of space through its elevated, sculpted roof form, which amplifies light and volume internally.

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One of two design options have been prepared for a new compact building carefully nestled amongst a cluster of eucalyptus trees at the rear of an established site in the Lower North Shore of Sydney.

Art Studio Cabin is set out on a precise 4m × 3.8m structural grid and operates as both an art workspace and a secondary dwelling to the main residence on the site. Conceived as a model for compact living, it fosters a strong relationship with the existing garden and surrounding tree canopy, drawing landscape and sky into the everyday experience of the space.

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New refurbishment works are underway at Darling Point Penthouse within Easthaven. The works will broadly encompass new high performance aluminium framed sliding glass doors to the envelope of the apartment, exterior waterproofing works, and new internal joinery, electrical work, and carpet throughout the interior.

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Combining parts of prior Options A & B with further design development, the exterior visuals for Redfern House highlight the manner in which the new addition and alterations have been crafted in connection to its place and setting.

The embodied energy and cultural value of the original front form are retained in its heritage conservation area while delicate restoration of its face-brick exterior, curved sandstone quoins, and filigree metal details enhance its street presence. A new front dormer signals the newly inserted attic level within the original room form and is purposely stripped of faux-historic detailing to enable its readability as a modern addition.

The scale of the new rear addition is intentionally subordinate to the original front form in the way it extends from beneath the existing rear gutter, incorporating a contemporary material palette to allow clear legibility between new and old fabric. All three levels offer degrees by which they can open and shut to temper sunlight and privacy when needed, while a judiciously located northern courtyard allows divergent cross views, ventilation and daylight access at the centre of the plan, in turn promoting an interplay of rooms across front and rear halves.

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New visuals of the ground and upper floor interior spaces for Redfern House highlight the varying spatial qualities within the new addition and original front half of the house for an artist couple and their young family. Aside from meeting numerous client and council planning objectives, the new works amply resolve many requisite concerns around daylight access, cross ventilation, and material & energy sustainability.

The front lower and upper bedrooms are renewed with improved amenity and storage while the front secondary rooms are transformed to accommodate generous kitchen, dining and bathroom spaces. New staircases vastly improve circulation, and a new attic level is sensitively inserted within the original form to provide dedicated office space that is flexibly adapted as guest accommodation.

At the rear addition, a new ground floor living area opens onto a generous landscaped rear garden, while a new main bedroom and ensuite bathroom are accommodated on the upper floor. The spaces embody durable, low maintenance materials predominantly comprising of low carbon burnished concrete, FSC-certified blackbutt timber joinery, wall & floor elements, and long life-cycle terrazzo overlays – while also employing a loose triadic colour strategy throughout.

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The new year is off to a good start with Christopher Polly Architect being awarded a winner in the 2025 Best of Houzz awards in Design for the practice’s sustained reputation for high quality architectural design.

It’s very gratifying that the work of the practice continues to be recognised on the back of having been previously awarded in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2015.

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Graphical representations showcase the design development of a 2^nd design option for the rear addition to a Redfern terrace house.

This Option B extends the upper floor footprint of the rear bedroom (via removal of the rear balcony in Option A) to enable an ensuite bathroom within its floor plate, thereby generating a stepped profile to the rear façade. It comprises of carefully arranged customised brushed aluminium ‘egg-crate’ sliding grilles, white-painted steel assemblies, and FSC-certified white oak framed sliding glass doors & windows.

New graphical 3d modelling representations showcase the design development of the 1^st design option for the rear addition to a terrace house in Redfern.

The modelling has enabled the expression of its form in all its detail externally and internally, with a focus on articulating the rear façade and the manner in which this operates to connect to its setting. It comprises of a tightly composed arrangement of white-painted steel, punctured fibrecement sliding screens, and FSC-certified blackbutt framed sliding glass doors.

Design development is concurrently underway of the 2^nd design option that was prepared for the rear addition, while development is also underway of the new kitchen and bathroom spaces within the original front house.

Design concepts have been prepared for alterations & additions to a terrace house in Redfern.

Located in a heritage conservation area, the original house will be sympathetically restored to enhance its historic character in accordance with council provisions, while a carefully considered interior refurbishment will vastly improve its amenity and efficiency.

The new addition is sensitively attached to the rear of the primary front form and bridged by a courtyard to enable light and ventilation at the centre of the house. Its rear façade in this design option explores a composition encompassing steel plate framing, composite perforated sliding panels, and timber framed sliding glass doors & windows to temper daylight and privacy to the rear spaces.

New renders of Trafalgar House have been uploaded showcasing the new two-storey addition to a freestanding terrace house in its heritage conservation area.

Aside from amply meeting client and council objectives, the project is driven by overarching conservation and sustainability values. The original front form retains local cultural heritage in the public domain and responsibly preserves its embodied energy. The new rear addition augments the low environmental footprint of the project, achieves a thermal comfort level of 7-stars, embeds low carbon materials, and integrates on-site renewable energy production and storage.

The new ground floor interior is carefully composed within its singular volume, with new arched openings through an existing internal wall echoing the original front façade openings and allowing the existing front half to amply connect to the new rear spaces – while a carved-out void enables daylight access from the first floor above.

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Exterior visuals of the new rear addition to a terrace house highlight the manner in which it sensitively interprets, springs from, and is sub-ordinate to the original front form in its heritage conservation area.

Height is carefully controlled under the existing rear eave, new wall faces align with existing walls, and angled wall, roof and external hood elements reflect the original roof pitch – with a distinctly contemporary material and colour palette serving to strengthen the legibility of both the original front half and the new addition.

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The ground floor spaces within the new rear addition are arranged within a 4m tall ‘grand room’, connecting to a new landscaped courtyard and sky views beyond - with a powder room, reading alcove, and a laundry room doubling as a second side entry carefully organised to one side along its length. Of importance to the client brief, new arched openings through an existing internal wall enable the original front half to markedly link to the new ground floor rear spaces while echoing the arched openings of the front façade.

With the first floor, a series of crafted and controlled spaces offer varying spatial experiences in counterpoint to their otherwise modest dimensions. A pop-up rear roof plane over the bedroom echoes the original roof pitch and enables northern light access and sky views, an office and main bathroom each borrow from an adjacent void to expand outlooks, and an ensuite projects outward from the footprint to connect to the street and canopy views - with a linear array of roof lights over a compact hall responding to a challenged northern orientation along the side boundary.

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It was super nice to receive notification from Architizer that the practice had made it onto their list of the “30 Best Architecture Firms in Australia”. It’s very humbling to be amongst a group of highly esteemed Australian architecture firms.

Greenwich House image by Matthew Fonda / Method Visualisation