HOUSE IN FOREST TOWN – A NOD TO THE PAST
HERITAGE
Architect TJ Dry first submitted plans for his own three-bedroom house in 1941. The house is a jewel of crafted brick masonry, with its pièce de résistance perhaps the original living room (now the formal lounge) – an almost church-like space where large timber trusses, jointed with beautifully detailed wrought iron straps, support the slate-tiled roof.
GSA proposed several additions and alterations, with the focus on reprioritising the connection between house and garden, and maximising space for the family of four, among others by adding new rooms. While most rooms retained their original functions,
the spaces where opened up, enhancing flows and spatial experience.The kitchen was modernised, and bathrooms were liberated with natural light and ventilation. Heritage elements of the main house were conserved, and respected in new additions, yet set apart, among other devices, by the juxtaposition of elements: within the A-framed roof spaces the new white ceiling stands in contrast to the older stained timber finishes; and in its spatial configuration the new family room gives an acknowledging nod to the adjoining formal lounge, yet remains distinct through its contemporary expression.
