A Sleek, Surprising Reworking Of A Victorian Cottage
The standard process when updating an outdated lean-to is to replace the structure with a much larger, modern extension.
At one stage this might have been the course for this Brunswick property, but an existing edible garden on site inspired Blair Smith Architecture to consider other ideas.
‘The original lean-to had a poetic utility and modesty I wanted to somehow distil,’ says Blair. ‘The site already had a detached [14m²] brick studio, and an edible garden started by the previous owner, so part of the brief was to insert something new that could retain those elements.’
Clearly the original lean-to with its lack of aspect, awkward layout, and poor thermal performance had to go, but there were other elements of this structure that spoke to Blair.
Rather than creating a much larger extension that would see the garden destroyed, he settled on a more understated design encompassing the kitchen, dining