Cooks Hill House

Complete

2022 - 2024

A light response to time and place.

Cooks Hill, Newcastle

Awabakal Country / Pambalong Clan

Project Lead: Louise Eddie

Builder: Goodwin Vaughan

Structural & Stormwater Engineer: Partridge

Garden Design: Prandium Studio

Photography: Christopher Frederick Jones

Located in the Cooks Hill Conversation area, the narrow 7.9m wide site fronts an original, character-rich, gable-ended single-storey brick veneer cottage adjoined by a 1990 extension. Given the confusing internal layout and detachment from the rear yard, readdressing this extension was seen as a priority.

Our design maintains the original cottage with upgrades to glazing, joinery, services, and painting, which are the only new works. For the extension, existing external walls and roof structures are retained, with upgrades to the ensuite the only element not entirely overhauled from the internal footprint. The proposal reinforces the main side hallway connecting front to back, with access to a new laundry, linen and bathroom. From the hallway, you arrive into a new open-plan kitchen and dining with a sunken lounge directly connecting the interiors with a memorable room, the central courtyard garden.

Enclosing the courtyard is a new detached studio, bathroom, and garden storage. The studio space is designed to adapt to various living patterns; it can serve as a quiet retreat to work or relax, while an integrated murphy bed allows family members or friends to stay in privacy. A secondary courtyard garden provides additional light and ventilation while increasing the site's spatial depth through distant views connecting both structures.