The Toowoon Bay development was an interesting project in that it was an existing building located on a corner block with a café operating on the ground floor.
The client’s desire was to spruce up the building’s general appearance. The existing building was dated and looked out of place with the mixed character of the residential dwellings and businesses surrounding it.
The exterior of the building retains a commercial feel with signage for the café and awning to protect patrons and emphasis its entry. As one turns the corner and leaves the commercial café component, the awning dissipates, replaced by window screening for the residential portion.
Operation of the existing café comprising part of the ground floor needed to be retained, while a fresh new entry was required to refurbish the remaining portion of the ground floor into a home office. The upper floor deserved a bit of finesse with its planning to establish a home with efficient use of its floor plan.
The result was to gut the residential component and redesign its planning completely.
The entry to the home is punctuated by a vertical privacy screen which counterbalances the streetscape elevation by mimicking the vertical screening located on the upper floor corner of the building.
A central foyer sitting area forms the hub between the home office space and kitchenette and the remainder of the dwelling. Vertical circulation is through a new staircase that curls around a corner and leads you to the upper floor and more private portions of the home.
