CONSERVATION WITH NEW WORKS

1998 – 2001

Built in 1870, Atherfield is a Gothic Revival House of eight rooms with fine views over Sydney Harbour from Darling Point. Over time, a series of mostly poor quality alterations and additions had compromised its integrity.

Design 5 – Architects was commissioned in 1998 to undertake radical surgery to the house and to reinstate a more satisfactory relationship between rooms while giving the house a new level of detail and quality lost through the accretion of poor alterations.

The major work involved excavation for new rooms in the lower ground floor, the construction of a verandah in keeping with the Gothic character of the place and a new axis linking the new front entrance to the view of the Harbour. Elsewhere, new bathrooms, dressing rooms and a library were formed.