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Faithful Renovation Of A Waterfront House In Auckland

Renovations don’t always need to mean dramatic changes and unrecognizable structures and designs. Often, we see projects for which the main goal is to preserve the original character and as much of the design as possible. The idea is to make the structure more space-efficient and functional, to bring more light inside but not necessarily to change the style in which it was designed.

 In the case of this house located in Auckland, New Zeeland, the project was developed in 2012 by Dorrington Architects. It was a renovation of the existing house and the goal was to preserve many of the original details and features.



 The architects wanted to bring in more sunlight and to also emphasize the beautiful waterfront views by taking advantage of the location and orientation of the site. Originally, the house was a double-skin brick bungalow with little connection to the outdoors and its views.







Although it was old, the house was sturdy and had many beautiful traditional details that the owners wanted to preserve. They preferred to renovate the house instead of building a new one just so that they can have this connection with the past and the history of the building. They wanted a contemporary house that would incorporate the existing one and thus a mix of old and new resulted. The house now has 4 blocks linked by a hallway, two of which were newly constructed.-Via