Camera St
A quiet confidence brings this contemporary cottage to life…
Project Details
Location: Manly, Sydney, NSW
Lead Architect: Andrew Collins
Completion: 2019
With views across Sydney Harbour and outdoor green space and green wall designed by Jamie Durie – the transformation from the compact cottage to the modern family home was a dream come true for the owners. Filled with unique artwork, including a piece created directly onto the stairwell wall created by NY-based, Sydney street artist Vexta, the three-storey house gives modern luxury to this Sydney family.
Excavating below the Federation terrace to create a basement, and adding two further levels of amenity, transformed the once-small Manly cottage into an improbably roomy and luxurious family home.
Respecting the street’s heritage, the charming gabled façade was retained. But beneath, behind and above, the four-bedroom residence is confidently contemporary. Chiselled out of sandstone, the subterranean strata has a garage, cellar, rumpus and laundry. While the mid-level hosts the bay-windowed master suite and expansive living areas oriented north toward a Jamie Durie-designed rear courtyard.
The upper storey hosts teenage bedrooms, a study and multi-functional guest, office or lounging room, with a grand window affording the skyline outlook to South Head.
Solving the usual big-city issues of tight, tunnel-like houses, the central, open-backed staircase draws light down all three levels. Numerous windows punctuate side walls, leaving Camera House to revel in natural illumination.
