The first thing that strikes about this home addition is its flared shape. Designed by Australian firm Mesh Design+ Projects, the building is clad with wood planks that seem to be converging to a common underground base. A flat roof cuts the planks abruptly at the top, preventing them to flare even more towards the open sky. This new building creates additional space for an open plan kitchen, dining room and living room, and completes the existing building which can be dedicated to the night area. The windows and doors are cut into the sloping facades. A whole cube is actually carved out creating a covered terrace that continues out in the garden with a wooden deck. On two sides of this cube there are sliding glass doors that give access to the garden but also bring natural light into the dining and living room area. On the third side a niche is created into the wall, and it functions as a built-in bench. The kitchen occupies the left wall of the space, with a long counter and many storage cabinets. It is completed by an island that serves as worktop and breakfast bar. A proper dining table is placed right next to it, under a pendant light made of three individual lamps with colored transparent glass shades hanging at different height.
The inclined lines of the buildings create interesting exterior perspectives. The house looks like the above-the-ground part of a bigger structure, like the tip of an iceberg.
Except for the ceiling of the terrace, the whole building is covered in wood, from walls to niches and window frames.
On the inside, the materials change as well as the approach. The walls are simply painted white and the floors are in polished concrete, as if wanting to contrast with the warm brown of the wooden facades.
Next to the living room there is an additional sitting area with a big round textile pouf placed in the middle. One wall integrates storage, a fish tank and a niche-bench with a frozen glass window in the background.
Though the floor is open plan, the function of each space is very clear. The kitchen and dining area are placed on the left side, while the living room and sitting area occupy the right side the addition. There is a certain symmetry in the layout too. While sitting at the kitchen counter people are turned towards the kitchen block and while sitting on the sofa they are turned towards the TV wall.
The kitchen is the only other place where we can find wood, for the doors of some of the cabinets, the kitchen island and the dining table. The backsplash of the kitchen counter is covered in grey mosaic with a very three-dimensional aspect.
