Conservation & Heritage Issue 49 October 2025 - Flipbook - Page 75
Alongside the aesthetic and energy-improvement brief for
Pine Heath, spatial planning needed much consideration
throughout the property. The new arrangement lays out a
defined relationship between indoor and outdoor zones. A
more logical connection is re-established between entrance,
kitchen and living areas, and large amounts of storage
and multi-purpose functionality are introduced into these
communal spaces.
Previously a three bedroom home, Studio Hagen Hall
has utilised the property’s five storeys to deliver a cleverly
and subtly zoned floor plan, balancing social family space
with distinct areas for rest, utility, work, and play. It now
comprises an additional fourth guest bedroom suite-cumgym in the basement, plus a new office and guest sleeping
pod in the eaves of the property.
The original central stairwell and timber clad ceilings
acted as a cue to reinstating the modernist characteristics
of Pine Heath. The aged Paraná pine, a highly sought after
endangered species, formed the foundation for the project’s
material palette and further references Studio Hagen
Hall’s sensitive design choices to work around and preserve
original, indelible detail throughout the home.
Other intentional devices are employed by Studio Hagen
Hall to improve sightlines and accentuate spatial flow
between each room. In the bedrooms, old doors and
openings have been replaced with floor to ceiling pocket
doors maintained at 2.5 metres high, and subtly re-aligned
to allow perfect views all the way from the front to the back
of the house. Storage spaces in the bedrooms, once running
laterally, now run perpendicular so that windows and views
are completely unfettered and viewed through deep timberlined portals.
On entry, visitors are greeted by a generous hallway and a
built-in cloak area complete with bench, with direct vistas
reaching the terraced patio and communal gardens to the
rear of the home. Navigating this visual journey, occupants
are carried along acute horizontal datum lines, and a tile
grid that continues throughout the whole house; window
sills, joinery, and spaces with angular changes cut at 45
degree angles, highlight Studio Hagen Hall’s meticulous and
exceedingly satisfying approach to spatial design.
The new bespoke kitchen nods to the client and Studio
Hagen Hall’s shared interest in quality craftsmanship,
showcased in dynamic, yet sensitive, material detailing.
Brushed stainless steel worktops sit deftly atop the bespoke
cabinetry, individually fitted to mask all domestic appliances
such as the fridge, dishwasher and bespoke extractor
fan hood. Custom designed and milled sapele handles
mirroring existing mahogany accents throughout the house.
Period details of the original modernist kitchen have been
accentuated for contemporary use; textured, stippolyte glass
cabinetry together with a sweeping curved timber fascia now
envelopes the kitchen, aligning with the original horizontal
window datum and framing the serving hatch to the dining
area. Custom mechanical louvre window shutters are
installed above the sink providing privacy from the street
when required.
