Mardini Constructions was announced as the Winner of the 2011 House Additions/Alterations/Renovations $550,001-$700,000 category, for the Paddington Terrace Project, at last weekend’s Master Builders Association of NSW Excellence in Housing Awards night.
This particular two storey terrace was originally built as a worker’s cottage in 1885.
The design brief from the Architects, Collins and Turner, required a reconstruction of the whole structure, as well as providing an additional lower ground floor level living area, while maximising the use of space, in a modern open plan, clean unobstructive manner.
Following carefully planned underpinning of the original fragile masonry structure, which had been built on loose sandy soil, a total of 240 cubic metres of soil was excavated by hand. Then, the entire terrace home was demolished.
A key feature of the construction involved a series of steel frames that were integrated together for great strength and rigidity, with most being exposed, as part of the design. These were further highlighted by concealing continuous LED strip lighting behind the column flanges.
Very precise shadowlines were required for the floors, walls and ceilings, as part of the pure, clean appearance.
In addition to the honed limestone tiles in the bathroom, the benchtops, vanities, basins and even the bathtub, were all custom-made on site from slabs of limestone.
White washed recycled Oregon timber flooring was used for the ground floor, as well as for the staircase, which featured custom-made fabricated steel and glass balustrades.
In the landscaped rear yard, the basin and BBQ bench were constructed from Italian Basaltina stone.