Bundeena House

This 1959 brick veneer residential home in Bundeena sits on the ridge overlooking the national park. A sublime location not quite recognised by the existing house.

Rather than demolish and rebuild, this single dwelling was a careful dismantling, repair and rebuild in order to ‘do the minimum’, saving resources, both financial and carbon. From inside out, new timber stud work was replaced as necessary, while insulation, sarking and brick-ties were inserted or replaced throughout. 80% of the brick veneer was retained and 100% of the concrete slab.

However all the window openings were revised; some built in, others slightly shifted, enlarged or made smaller, as necessary to optimise the expansive views over the National Park and the Ocean. A swimming pool and large areas of concrete were removed and re-purposed as pathways and garden walls. A new raised garden wall created a terrace on the east, which lifted the framed view to the national park. The new bush garden ‘borrows’ the landscape of the park with mainly endemic species.

Inside rooms were replanned, 3 bay windows and a second bathroom were added, all within a footprint made smaller, in order to set the house a further 2 metres back from the bush, thus lowering the BAL rating from Flame Zone to BAL 40.

The new long living/dining kitchen is like a breezeway between a new western courtyard that connects through to the new eastern terrace.