To judge solely by its Marrickville street frontage, Silver Back is a typical terrace house. Its metal fence and ornamentation stand out against the backdrop of its crisp white facade, and its first-storey verandah features a detailed balustrade that, except for its colour, matches that of its next-door neighbour.
But moving into the house, a different story unfolds: an updated entry sequence draws attention to a spiral stair, which acts as a visual nexus connecting the original terrace house with a metal-clad two-storey addition.
This approach to expanding the home, which was renovated in response to the needs of its young family, is the work of GSBN Studio and lead architect Henry Goodwin. Henry and his team describe “a focus on materiality” that directed them toward aluminium, wood and stainless steel. The result of this focus is evident in boxwood joinery, concrete floors, sisal carpet and eponymous silver cladding, all of which are deployed throughout the home to establish its distinct visual language.
Guided by a “functional approach to design”, Henry’s team shaped a clear path from the entry through to the new building. A windowed courtyard borders one side of this connection between volumes; a bath with a hairpin-like curved wall defines the other. The path ends in the combined kitchen and dining, which is situated on the ground floor of the addition and opens to the outdoors, where greenery sprouts between pavers and chairs invite relaxation (and perhaps neighbourly chats with laneway passers-by).
While there’s no denying that Silver Back’s corrugated metal facade defines it from the laneway, very much earning its name, the resulting volume is no seamless block. A second-storey cutaway affords space for greenery and a view of the timber window frame beyond; beside it, a playful pop-out adds interest whether viewed from within or without. Further adding shape and depth is a path of pavers alongside the house, letting occupants wander from the front garden through to the back without going indoors – or duck inside through a door near the spiral stair. Ascending these open, minimalist white steps leads to a pair of first-storey bedrooms; a built-in bath sits in the new volume, as does the master bedroom. Timber frames provide warm, deep notes in the largely desaturated palette.
This contrast is one of many in Silver Back, whose delightfully different design will surely evolve along with its young family for years to come.