Shining example

A soaring, sculptural extension gives a humble Bowral bungalow a whole new lease on light.

- CHRIS PEARSON

Come nighttime, this extension glows like a Japanese rice-paper lantern; like a gentle, gleaming box,” says architect Luke Moloney. With its white luminescence, subtle textures and delicate angles, it would make light sculptor Isamu Noguchi proud. That brilliance extends to daytime, albeit expressed differently, when the soaring glassed void, with its multi-pitched butterfly roof and timber screening, is immersed in sunshine and touches the earth lightly.

Luke has played with the roofline, with its origami folds, introducing subtle pitches that let in the light and echo the topography, while also welcoming in views of Mount Gibraltar through its generous glazing.

The bold addition stands in dramatic contrast to the original 1920s bungalow at the front, in Bowral, New South Wales. When the owners approached Luke in 2020, they lived in the family home down the road and used this as an Airbnb but, with their two adult daughters flying the nest, they wanted to downsize. And this cottage seemed the obvious choice.