Snorkel House is an adaptive re-use project of an existing brick home in the inner north suburb of Campbell. Critical components of the project brief concerned improving privacy, indoor/outdoor transitions, spatial flexibility and thermal performance; and resolving the existing, poorly configured interior.

Snorkel House provides private courtyard spaces and a discreet front entrance; a private parents retreat with improved spatial separation; north-facing children’s bedrooms with direct connection to the exterior; and a modest yet unconventional new street address to the eastern frontage.

The large regulated eucalyptus tree on the neighbour’s block provided a great opportunity for a playful gesture to the street in the form of the snorkel. The snorkel draws northern light into the sitting room, and views of the sky and tree beyond. At night time, the snorkel illuminates as an orange beacon in the suburban streetscape, a signal of the domestic life within.