Balmain East House

It was negotiated with Leichhardt Council that an old, dilapidated house on the site could be demolished. The new house had to be connected to what it replaced, so a simple timber-framed structure that appeared single-storey fronting the street reserve with weatherboards was its replacement.

The house has extensive views toward Mort Bay and needed to sit comfortably within an important heritage precinct within Balmain East.

Architecture: OIKOS Architects

Construction: Integration Builders Pty Ltd (Paul McDonald)

Photography: Oikos Architects

Oikos Balmain East Townhouses

Semi-detached Sandstone  Cottage, Rozelle

A small sandstone cottage was built as a pair, with an original attic bedroom and dormer window toward the street. The rear of the house was rebuilt, with the new kitchen and bathroom being extended toward the boundary with access to the rear garden from the new living area. The attic bedroom was extended and a new ensuite bathroom was added.

The terraced garden, built largely around an existing outcrop of rock, was modified to allow a tensioned shade structure over the parking area.

Architecture: OIKOS Architects

Construction: Alltime Constructions Pty Ltd

Photography: Oikos Architects

Small shop and two new apartments, Darling Street Balmain

Like many shops on Darling Street, the premises and services provided by the occupants have changed over the years. Initially, the shop was a butcher’s shop, then a plumber’s workshop, then changed to a general garden supplies shop, then a Bonsai garden centre and then a fashion outlet.

Due to some previous uses, a site contamination assessment was required. OIKOS Architects were commissioned to design two new two-storey apartments at the property’s rear and restore the shop located on the street frontage. The site was narrow and built onto a side boundary, requiring innovative solutions to obtain light and ventilation for the apartments.

Architecture: OIKOS Architects

Construction: Level 1 Constructions

Photography: OIKOS Architects

Former shop and residence, Palmer Street Balmain

Relatively minor changes to a heritage item involve almost as much work as extensive alterations when it comes to securing Development Consent. Oikos Architects was commissioned to carry out internal changes and a new rear addition to this important landmark shop and residence.

The place had been extended multiple times, and the approach was to express this as further addition. The result can be interpreted as a changing building, growing and adapting to its various owners within an important heritage precinct.

Architecture: OIKOS Architects

Construction: Simon Brain Constructions

Photography: OIKOS Architects

St Thomas Church Parsonage, Rozelle

Edmund Blacket designed the St Thomas Church Parsonage and Church, which was later altered by Blacket & Sons. They were the colony’s most prodigious ecclesiastic architects and provided the full gamut of religious building types. The St Thomas Parsonage is a mansion built in Victorian Filigree style by Edmund Blacket.

Oikos Architects was commissioned to undertake extensive restoration and alteration work on the Parsonage, including a heritage study and Heritage Impact Statement.

Architecture: OIKOS Architects

Construction: Brian Woodward Constructions

Photography: OIKOS Architects