Reborn Fibro Cottage
The Original Cottage
A tiny yet charming old and run down fibro cottage in need of total renovation The home was a disorganised collection of disjointed and somewhat cramped spaces with terrible thermal performance. Due to Its poor condition the house required almost totally reconstruction, however this did allow for a well-insulated building envelope and a modern interior. With minimal changes to the façade the buildings simply character is further retained by using weathertex cladding in a matrix pattern as a modern interpretation of the original fibro sheets
By removing most of the existing internal walls the home is open yet still retains a cosy feeling. Flexibility was enhanced by the use of a large barn door clad in the original salvaged weatherboards as a reminder of its humble beginnings.
For a home to be truly sustainable it should have a timeless quality that is flexible and adaptable to future changes in society. Re use and up-cycling are important concepts and this home not only reused almost all the existing timbers and doors it even had the trees that had to be removed milled on site so they could be used as feature timbers to further integrate the home to the site.
Energy efficiency is of course important and the extension is a typical passive solar design with the winter sun falling on the dark tiled concrete floor through large double glazed windows. The north wall of the extension was angled so as not to block the view of the garden.
