DETACHED HOUSE @ RIPLEY CRESCENT

Architecture by MU ARCHITECTS + Interior Design by STUDIO XMSL

6 400 sq ft  Bungalow

Reconstruction of a bungalow for a multi- generation family.

This multi-generation family home was built more than 25 years ago. Studio XMSL was brought in to redesign this old house to suit contemporary lifestyles and aesthetic sensibilities. Aside from restoring and upgrading most of the building’s infrastructure, we sought to rework the planning of the entire house.

The old house was built on a slope that resulted in the front and back portions of the house being built as staggered mezzanines. The house felt disconnected and despite its large footprint, the house suffered from the lack of spaciousness and had insufficiently sized rooms.

We began our transformative planning via inserting a new 3-storey high atrium space that brought in a lot of natural light and air into the entire house. A home lift was installed in this new atrium alongside a reworked stairs that breathed new life into the otherwise inefficient circulatory spaces. The gable end roof form was replaced with a sculptural roof form negotiating different platform levels while ensuring both the front and rear bedrooms on the attic level could be maximized in size and height. Both attic master bedrooms were enlarged and had full height glass panels with access to large balconies.

As with all XMSL landed homes, we worked on the interior design of the spaces also. We used a variety of deep and rich walnut timber finishes to enrich the interior spaces.