Residential Church Conversion

The Site

Project Brief

The project brief was to convert an old abonded church into a tiny home. The interior floor size is 45m2, with an existing 2.4m x 2.7m extension that can be changed in anyway but must stay the same size, along with the existing windows on the north and south side of the building.

The space is to fit 3 people and the main consideration was it must be an eco-tiny home.

Jayda, Erin and their son Otis recently puchased the 45m2 church in Oberon. They are planning on using it as a holiday home and to rent it out when they arent using it, as Erin is a primary school teacher at their local school in wollongong.

The clients have asked for a contemporary and unique design suitable for children, but also wanting it as a space to host family and friends for barbecues and events.

The clients enjoy skiing, hiking and camping and have asked for enough storage to store their outdoor gear in the home, and have asked if possible for an outdoor entertaining area with a kitchen and barbecue to act as an extension of the indoor kitchen.

The Client The Concept

Both Jayda and Erin grew up with pet birds in their families and came up with a concept of a birdcage to focus the design on.

They both have asked for the concept to be applied to the new extension, creating the home as a safe space for their family and friends.

A glass & concrete cage was added onto the rear of the building to showcase the surrounding landsacpe. The kitchen extends the length of the church, with a double door added to give easy access to the outdoor kitchen and entertainment deck.

A sunken lounge and an elevated dining booth have been incorporated to create a visual seperation of the different zones on the ground floor.

A pitched ceiling has been constructed to allow for extra height on the first floor, as well as bringing in as much natural light as possible through multiple skylights placed throughout.

The first floor hallway features a long skylight running half the length of the church, with a void on the landing bring more natural light into the ground floor.

Both bedrooms feature custom beds that have been designed to create as much floor space as possible. With a loft single bed in the second bedroom and a sunken platform bed in the main bedroom.