Interior, furniture design and fabrication Greens Beach 2024
With this renovation project we sought to
extend the life of a 100-year-old Hydro workers cottage in remote Tasmania — to
save a home that would otherwise be nearing its end of life and demolished. The
insertion of a plywood core re-imagines the interior space while eliminating
the need for major structural work or building outside of the existing
footprint. Existing timber furniture was
salvaged, refinished and reused, keeping it out of landfill. Benchtops use reclaimed
Tasmanian hardwood, and cabinets use sustainably-source ply. Cork was selected
for its inherent hygroscopic and insulative properties. Healthy finishes, chosen
for improved interior air quality, are used throughout the project: tung oil,
natural hard wax, and water-based sealers -thereby re improving indoor air
quality and resulting in a low allergen, healthy interior space. Employing
design-for-repair principles in construction and natural surface finishes is a
way of enabling current and future users to safely carry out service, repair,
or touch-ups without the need for specialist interventions or harsh toxic chemical-based
solvents or cleaning agents.
This kind of no-build intervention is an
important focus for Practice-Matters, working to save existing houses from
demolition through a few considered interventions that improve liveability
without the environmental, material, energy, and time costs of new building.