The existing house is a late colonial Queenslander on an inner city Brisbane lot - it had previously been raised and the bottom level enclosed with concrete block. The house is of modest size and nearly all the original house was retained.

Our strategy was to create a new high-set addition at the rear with a simple verandah link to the old house. This created a north-east facing swimming pool courtyard at the lower level, and also provided a view, light and breezes to the upper level. The planning around an open link and courtyard, together with the single width living area allows both the old and new houses to be very well naturally ventilated. Ceiling fans are used in all rooms and there is no air conditioning. The original design included opening roofs to ventilate the pavilion, these were scuppered midway through the design process to align the budget with the brief.

The finishes are simple with the occasional flourish. The house was flooded during stage 1 of the construction and as a result the wall linings in the old house were replaced with hoop pine paneling, which also creates a link between the new and old areas. As the property is subject to flooding a number of strategies were deployed to mitigate the risk of damage - the lower walls are rendered block (unpainted), the doors are solid core on pivots (rather than hinges) and there are no timber architraves or skirting - custom folded zincalume door jambs were used instead.