Secret Garden—Hidden Backyard Design in Sydney’s Inner-west

Tucked behind a brick wall in the inner-west of Sydney, this house unfolds gradually, first revealing rooms on a mezzanine, before opening out to an expansive living space at the back. Also at the rear, on the floor above, the main bedroom opens out to a hidden garden full of calm and wonder, a city oasis. With the exterior brick wall thought to have originally been part of stables, the house itself was built in the 1980s and renovated in the 2000s, but it needed architect Sam Crawford and team to help rationalise the plan and create an energy-efficient home. And all this was achieved without adding floor space.

The exterior brick wall opens to a small garden at the front of the house, then, coming inside, you reach a ground floor entry hall with a small set of stairs leading off it. This is the mezzanine, with two studies located either side on this level. Heading downstairs and through a sliding door, the home opens up to a sitting room, then to an open-plan kitchen, dining and living room with a courtyard beyond. The kitchen also has a walk-in pantry with laundry, toilet and storage tucked behind a door in the sitting room. Heading up to the first floor from the front entry is a large living room and spare bedroom with ensuite opposite, while at the back on this level (stacked above the kitchen, dining and living room) is a master suite that opens onto a first floor garden.

If this layout seems a lot to take in, it was significantly worse before the renovation. Then, for example, the ensuite to the master bathroom was not on the same level, and the door to the laundry was confusingly at the bottom of the stairs before being moved to the sitting room. “It will take you a while to understand the house,” says Sam as we stand in the entry hall. “Even when we were drawing it, it took a while to understand. There’s so many levels.”

What is extraordinary about this renovation is that the footprint of the house is essentially the same as it was before – instead, the design focused on rationalising the plan and retrofitting for sustainability. Architecturally, the biggest change was the removal of the rear of the house, which has been replaced with the new living space on the ground floor and main bedroom suite above and is made of concrete that curves upward like a wave. On the ground floor, the concrete ceiling is highly sculptural, while also opening up the kitchen, dining and living space to winter sun, and making the sky look huge. “The ceiling was probably about [the same] height but instead of turning up as it does now, it turned down to a very low set of doors,” explains Sam. The concrete here is not a slab, but a large beam supported by the walls on either side. Poured in one go using formwork, the architects were mindful of concrete’s impact and opted for a low carbon variety.

Upstairs, the upward curve of the concrete creates a ridge in the garden off the main bedroom. Here, the shape of the garden is similar to a small set of stairs that pre-existed the renovation and which offered views of the sky but reflected bright hot light into the bedroom. The new design echoes the shape and keeps the views, but softens the light with planting, making you feel as if you are sleeping in a hidden garden. And, because it’s north- facing, all sun here is winter sun. “In summer, in the hottest part of the year, you won’t get any sun hitting any glass here,” says Jarad Grice, also from Sam Crawford Architects.

Cross ventilation was also an important consideration to make the most of the climate, allowing cross-breezes during the frequently comfortable Sydney temperatures. Light wells and skylights were also created to ensure that no part of the house remained in darkness during the day, even the laundry. The house has solar power plus battery, and its hot water system and hydronic underfloor heating are also solar powered. Different parts of the house can be closed off to save heating costs.

While the whole house exhibits intelligent design from systems to layout to detailing, it is the back half of the house that makes it unique, with its concrete wave and hidden garden above. The interiors are warm and comfortable, with white walls, natural timber, eucalyptus green tiles and neutral colours used throughout. The wave of the concrete structure is also echoed via details in the wooden kitchen island, the green-tiled splashback and the shape of the garden beds. The result is a comfortable, rational design that is also highly energy-efficient.

Inside issue 94 — Grab the issue here.