Established in 2000, Quattro Architecture has developed into an award winning Architectural practice with offices in Sydney and Canberra. With an impressive folio of successfully completed projects Australia wide we have developed a depth of experience in a number of project areas.
Merrylands RSL
Sydney’s Northern Beaches contains some grand 1930s homes. While this house, located in Fairlight, is one of these, it had fallen into disrepair over the years with the owners considering pulling it down at one stage and replacing it with it with a brand-new home. However, Quattro Architecture appreciated the home’s impressive façade and its ‘bones’ – restoring and adding to the four-level home to the highest standards. ​​
Overlooking Sydney Harbour with unimpeded views of The Heads, the initial brief started with installing a pool on the
water’s edge. But both the owners and architects could see that this addition to the garden wasn’t going to drastically change the way the owners live. Hence, the brief was expanded considerably to include a major refurbishment and an addition of around 15 per cent to the home’s original footprint (approximately 600 square metres).
Designed for a couple whose family regularly visits from the United Kingdom, al long with the extended family coming together for celebrations at times such as the Christmas period, the brief called for fluid open plan spaces to entertain as well as generous bedroom
fluid open plan spaces to entertain as well as generous bedroom accommodation for family and friends – hence there are four
fluid open plan spaces to entertain as well as generous bedroom accommodation for family and friends – hence there are four bedrooms, including the main bedroom suite located on the middle level. Having the swimming pool would also greatly appeal to the grandchildren. ​
​Spread over three levels, with the lowest level used for storage, the floors are
loosely delineated with the lower level given over to entertaining and the living areas spilling over to the terrace/alfresco dining and the pool beyond. In the centre level are the bedrooms and at the top, affording the most impressive views, are the kitchen, dining and living areas – featuring large curvaceous windows which optimise the views and the morning light. One of the major
changes was the insertion of a new staircase, with its ‘floating’ stone treads and a large skylight allowing increased natural light into the core of the footprint. The new glass-framed lift also strengthens the connections between the levels and, importantly, ensuring that the home can remain the ‘forever house’ for the owners well into their latter years. ​
While the interior spaces have been completely reworked, including a state-of-the-art kitchen with
its rounded stone island
bench and glass-fronted wine cabinet, so has the home’s exterior – with its stepped brick walls, curved windows and steel detailing that’s reminiscent of the 1930s modernist aesthetic. Quattro Architecture even included a 1930s-style structure portico in the front garden for an outdoor barbeque area in order to take advantage of the site’s northern aspect.
What was once a run-down house with unused spaces, but a beutiful view, has ‘morphed’ into an entertainer’s delight,
tailor-made for a couple who like entertaining as much as being reminded on a daily basis, of the magic that comes from living on this unique site at Fairlight.