City Geeks

Residential architects focused on reimagining and renovating inner Sydney terrace houses.

SERVICES

DESIGN / EXTERNAL + INTERNAL

DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS + BUILDING APPROVALS

CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WE WORK WITHIN

CITY OF SYDNEY

INNER WEST COUNCIL

NORTH SYDNEY COUNCIL

WAVERLEY COUNCIL

WOOLLAHRA COUNCIL

Sydney 2024 / New construction signs have been printed and hung up. Let us know when you spot one!

Newtown / every option was explored, from; model making, video render walk throughs, to 1 to 1 drawing / sticky taping the design on site.

DA approved, getting ready for construction.

We try to consider embodied energy carefully by using stone, timber and recycled brick in our designs as much as possible.

To us, design is thinking about materials carefully. There is a lot you can do that allows you to save on embodied energy and energy use, which also can reduce your costs.

Erskineville / Juggling clients' requests and heritage council controls keeps us busy. Balancing these controls does lead to interesting outcomes.

Here is one of our approved DAs, where the client requested a first floor addition that would have overshadowed our neighbours. As such the chamfering of the rear roof, allowed us to keep the first-floor addition, which included a master suite, with a walk in wardrobe, bathroom and study, while allowing enough sunlight into the neighbour's kitchen.

All this lead to, a responsive outcome for a design focused client.

Would you believe 120 years ago, Australian homes lacked modern amenities such as gas, electricity, plumbing, and sewerage systems! People had to rely on fireplaces to cook and heat water for bathing … but not at the same time 😁

The evolution of terraces reflects these innovations. We can see this in the clip above with the linear stacking of new rooms to accommodate new technologies and changes in lifestyle.

Each additional room added at the rear of the terrace blocked natural light and fresh air, (as we know, todays terraces are notorious for rising damp and mould). With advancements in building technology, what was lost in the quality of natural light and ventilation, can be reintroduced through modern renovations, larger windows and open plans.

Swipe right > images of Sydney terraces taken at the turn of the century.

ALSO! Check the kangaroo 🦘 in the bottom left second image

Getting sunlight into terraces, or adding a first floor addition without blocking your neighbours, can always be a challenge. Here is a council approved design where we sliced the roof at the angle of the winter sun allowing a double height living room for our clients while still letting winter warmth into our neighbours ground floor.

Lilyfield / A unique project perched on Lilyfield Hill. The 8m wide home has the bones of a traditional terrace AND holds one of the best city skyline views.

Dulwich Hill / Concept design for a new project in the inner west.

Swipe right to see working sketch design.
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#design #homedesign #citygeeks #renovation #australiandesign #sydney #backyard

When proposing a new development there are many different setbacks we have to consider, for the: ground floor, first floor, and the attic. City Geeks assess these setbacks to control privacy, overshadowing and aesthetic consistency for your local neighbourhood.

These models and drawings help us put forward our reasoning to the council and surrounding neighbours for local approvals.

When renovating in the city it can be difficult juggling both 1) building controls and 2) heritage aesthetics, when adding dormers or converting your attic in to an extra room.

We recently wrote a computer algorithm that calculates the internal head height of these triangular spaces for us. A handy feature where the ceiling heights diverge in different angles.

Fun fact Fridays, the word staircase comes from the French word ‘estaire,’ - flight of steps.

We can’t think of a terrace we have worked on that didn’t have a series of steps or staircase somewhere!

We usually begin projects by considering where to place the staircase. They can open a space up, become a design feature, or by adding a skylight above they can be used as a light well.

The placement of the staircase can affects all levels, if reposition it on the ground floor you may consequently reduce the above bedroom space.

Are the kitchen they are often the most detailed and designed elements of any renovation.

Connecting the Potts Point to Woollomooloo are the notoriously steep McElhone Stairs.

Can you believe the 120 year old stairs are the only way to cross the two suburbs on foot?

We saw this accessibility issue raised in a community group, it was a no-brainer. A lift next to the unused space near the stairway would make it much easier for pedestrians to access Woolloomoooloo, the Art Gallery of NSW and Sydney Modern, and all the way into the CBD and Circular Quay.

So we put together this render of what an improved scenario could look like for Sydneysiders - and with the support of City Of Sydney councillor Lyndon Gannon - it's making headlines in The Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald.

It's simple ideas like this that can make our city more accessible and ultimately more liveable.

A video of the location is at the end

#McElhoneStairs #accessibility #CityOfSydney #SydneyDesign

www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/wentworth-courier/mcelhone-stairs-city-of-sydney-reveals-next-steps-to-improve-accessibility-at-popular-stone-stairs/news-story/ee2f17e3530b5dcda673cb145b0508e1?amp&nk=b929ff5a1c53a5e815eff13560b78924-1676255054

amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/catch-a-bus-instead-locals-decry-accessibility-lift-planned-at-historic-stairway-20230125-p5cfgd.html

Dunny lanes? Can I build down the side of my property? My neighbour's sewage pipe runs under my backyard?

These are all examples of boundary easements, they give you the right to access your neighbour's property for the purpose of maintaining or servicing your property.

If an easement for a right of way exists on your property, you will typically not be able to build over it or obstruct it without the permission of the person who has the right of use to the easement.

There will often be a clause in your property contract or survey that details how the boundary easement relates to you.

An easement can be extinguished or modified by agreement between the parties via a registered surveyor.

While there are many options to design around controls, it is first important to define what specific easement you may have first. If you are unsure, give us a call and we can help guide you through.

One of the most interesting requests from a client has been not to make the house bigger, but smaller the brief was more garden space.

One of our favorite parts when working on terraces is studying the unique property boundaries, each one has its own irregularity, diagonal side or indent.

Above is a handful of unique boundaries we have come across. Sometimes we can hide the angled boundaries with cabinetry and other times it can be interesting to show off the shape. We will let you know when we find a 90° rectangle boundary in Inner Sydney!

Zetland / Looking forward to starting construction on this double garage studio. The front terrace is heritage listed and an extension over the garage was an appropriate design decision to maximise the floor space of the property.

Scrolling right are construction renders and model images. It is important for us to use a range of mediums to effectively communicate the design direction.

Erskineville / Here is the narrowest project we have worked on. In fact, if you tried, you could only fit three cars in it.

The inside of this terrace was a series of 2.5m x 3m rooms, which made the home dark and a bit of a maze to walk through.

Our proposal was to remove the inner walls and then:
1. Move the bathroom towards the bedrooms.
2. Creating a larger living area, which the client could entertain guests in.
3. Shift the kitchen to the rear, overlooking the garden.

With a narrow terrace like this, how would you renovate it?

Models are an important part of our process - both for us as designers to explore and test our ideas and for our clients to visualise the designs we put forward.

They help us to zoom in and understand the space and transitions of a house, and express what pencil drawings and computers can sometimes struggle to convey.

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#homedesign #furniture #home #house #homeinterior #inspo #citygeeks #homereno #design #modernhome #interiordesign #celebratedesign #interior #inspiration #style #interior #build #style #renovation #inspire #designshow #designer #australiandesign #renovation #plan

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Why City Geeks?

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

We specialise in terrace house renovations within the five inner-city councils. Focusing on these areas gives us a better understanding of potential challenges, including constrained sites, heritage restrictions and council controls, from the beginning of a project.

SMART SOLUTIONS

Sydney terrace houses offer a great opportunity for convenient living in the heart of the city. But they can also come with unique pain points - low light, damp, disjointed layout, little to no insulation. We understand the constraints and challenge ourselves to create innovative solutions.

COLLABORATIVE APPROACH

Collaboration is at the core of our approach. We take the time early in the process to get to know our clients and understand their aspirations for their future home. We also collaborate with builders and external consultants to find solutions for design challenges and get the best outcome possible for our clients and their projects.

ARCHITECTS CODE OF CONDUCT

Architects are governed by the NSW Architects Code of Professional Conduct which makes us responsible to our clients for upholding the highest standards of practice.

The City Geeks

l - r / Joel, Levi, Yves

Want to know more? We'd love to hear from you...

Drop us a message and we’ll organise a time to discuss your project or better yet – we can come to you.

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City Geeks

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