We did the southPARK studio addition a few years back for a Grammy Award winning musician and his wife. They had recently purchased the simple 1100 s.f. 50's builder ranch. Between the tight existing rectangular floorplan to the mouldering carport and overlooked backyard, something had to be done to make the house more liveable. The program called for the replacement of the existing carport and storage room, a "man-cave"/studio space for the musician husband, and an enclosed connection to the existing house.
The original house sat slightly skewed on the trapezoidal lot and left little room in the backyard for the addition to go anywhere but where the existing carport stood. The decision was quickly made to replace the carport and build a new larger storage room that opened into the new vaulted studio space along the sideyard setback. This placement, though removed from the existing house, by hugging the setback, allowed for better usage of the already small tree-shaded backyard. By then connecting the studio to the existing livingroom with a new sitting area, the newly vaulted livingroom was further opened up to the backyard with ample 8'x8' sliding glass doors, turning the once overlooked outdoor space into the focal point of the livingroom and new studio.
The remote placement of the addition also helped enliven the front entry sequence with a nice entry court and concrete planting bed, overlooked by a large box window in the sitting room. A yaki-sugi (charred cedar) rainscreen wraps the court walls and lends an air of zen serenity to the house entry.
The exposed cedar decking and silver painted roof joists and columns of the carport further call attention to the structural rhythm of the addition and speak to the newness of the intervention.
A large painting of a Maori Hei matau, visible from the street, adorns the storage room door under the carport and pays homage to the history and musicianship of the owner, as does the four colour pattern of the metal siding that marches around the exterior of the addition.
New redwood decks further connect the yard to the poured concrete terraces that the addition sit upon. A simple butterfly roof over the carport and studio space wrap over the connecting sitting room space to the existing roof, creating a cohesive roofscape that belies the complexity of the underlying interior spaces. An additional eye level box window claims display space in the sitting area and allows for some transparency from entry courtyard into the backyard.
Comments