Page 140 - Australian House & Garden (January 2020)

H G houses

here’s no such thing as the too-hard
basketforJoGillies,directorofArchisoul
Architects.Iftherewas,thisrenovation

on Sydney’s Northern Beaches would
Tsurely be in it. The owners of this early
1900ssemicontactedJo,havingseenanArchisoul
sign outside another heritage project, to enquire
about renovating their property.
Joandherdesignteamtookonthejobandsoon
struck their first challenge: council planning
officialsinsistedtheadjoiningsemiberenovated
at the same time. “The owners convinced their
neighbour to bring his renovation plans forward.
So we had two different briefs, two budgets and
twotimelinestoworktowithouronebuilder,”she

says.“OnehomeownerlivedinEurope,whichmeant
lots of late-night phone calls, and we acted as the
contracts administrator for one semi but not
theother.Andwhenwebegantheproject,wehad
no idea of the building’s historical significance.”
It turns out that the semis were built by the Sly
brothers, local fishermen who would drag their
wooden boat out from the house to the nearby
ocean to conduct daring sea rescues in the early

20th century. “The Sly brothers were pioneers of
the Australian surf-lifesaving movement as we
know it today,” says Jo. “It was our heritage
consultant who discovered this; none of the
homeowners had any inkling.”
Archisoul Architects has carved out a niche for
itself as a firm that specialises in heritage work,
so the team understood how to approach this
complicatedproject.Thefacadesofthesemis,and
their two front sitting rooms, were retained
and restored. In the semi on the right [the home

featured here], the brick fireplace was also saved.
“Weprotecteditwithplyandropeswhile the house
was demolished around it,” says Jo.
The floor plan today bears little resemblance
to the original layout – “there was no flow, rooms
weretackedontorooms”–andit’snowalight-filled
familyhomewithanopen-plankitchen,livingand
dining area and a whole new level upstairs.
A trip to the Leicht Kitchens showroom saw

the homeowners fall instantly in love with the
European styling and craftsmanship they >

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