Snorkel House

Snorkel House is an award-winning courtyard house, adapted from an original double brick home located in the Canberra’s inner north. This project was designed by Sarah Truscott as the lead architect, whilst working for Philip Leeson Architects (PLA).

The Snorkel House project was born from a detailed and engaging brief provided by our clients, a young family residing in the inner north Canberra suburb of Campbell.

Addressing specific concerns outlined in their brief was paramount. These included improving the privacy, thermal efficiency, and the function of their existing home, as well as a small extension to accommodate the increased spatial requirements. The original double brick house posed challenges: an entry point set far back from the street meant there was minimal privacy; a poorly designed internal layout where bedrooms lacked privacy, especially the centrally located main bedroom; there was an undersized and poorly configured kitchen and laundry; there were no existing covered parking spaces; and there was a dire need to enhance the building’s overall thermal performance.

The redesign, encompassing a complete overhaul of the interiors, has led to the creation of a secluded north-facing courtyard garden. Additionally, a private retreat for the parents was established by incorporating a second sitting room that can be isolated from the rest of the house, allowing for quiet relaxation. The new works also introduced captivating elements in the ceiling plane and devised a bedroom arrangement that offers privacy from each other, as well as access to private courtyards. Furthermore, an unconventional, recessive, modest facade facing the street was developed, aligning with the clients’ specific requirements.

The presence of a sizeable regulated gum tree on the neighbouring property inspired the ‘snorkel’. This design element serves multiple purposes, drawing natural northern light into the parent’s sitting room while providing picturesque views of the sky and the tree. During the nighttime, the snorkel becomes a distinctive orange beacon within the neighborhood’s residential landscape. Importantly, the new front sitting room with snorkel can be closed off from the children’s bedrooms and primary living spaces, extending the private realm of the parents within the home.

Type | Alterations and additions
Location |
 Campbell, ACT
Country | Ngunnawal
Builder | 
Schouten Constructions
Engineer | Northrop Engineers
Photos | Ben Wrigley
Status | Complete
Completed | 2018
Recognition | Award for Residential Architecture – Alterations and Additions, 2020 (ACT AIA Awards)

Kitchen with Casesarstone bench tops, laminate cabinets and Spotted gum timber floor. Designed by Sarah Truscott Architect in Canberra, whilst working for Philip Leeson Architects
Steel frame skeleton and rammed earth walls on site at Kampung Batu Bigga, a project designed by Sarah Truscott Architect Canberra

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Steel frame skeleton and rammed earth walls on site at Kampung Batu Bigga, a project designed by Sarah Truscott Architect Canberra

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Scaffolding erected on site at Kampung Batu Bigga, a project designed by Sarah Truscott Architect Canberra

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Snorkel House progress photo, designed by Sarah Truscott whilst working for Philip Leeson Architects

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1  The snorkel emerges
2  Hit and miss brick wall in construction, separating public and private realms of the street and courtyard beyond
3  Lightweight timber cladding wraps the front extension and snorkel with hit and miss brick courtyard walls providing dappled light and filtered views 
4  Sitting quietly into the streetscape at practical completion, the front garden will eventually conceal all but the snorkel and carport from view

The following citation was delivered by the awards jury for Snorkel House upon receiving an Award for Residential Architecture – Alterations and Additions:

“The Snorkel House combines a series of respectful, practical and novel additions and alterations to an existing suburban home in Campbell. The architects have uncovered innovative solutions to a challenging brief, with architectural strategies resonating at both pragmatic and aesthetic levels.

The project demonstrates considerable skill in re-planning the site and the existing house. The project is selective in its interventions, retains a large proportion of the physical fabric of the original house, and repurposes it in intelligent ways. This sensitivity is couple with the more ambitious new wing that addresses the street, simultaneously organising the entry sequence, balancing the private needs and public responsibility of the dwelling, and providing additional living and sleeping spaces.

The eponymous snorkel is the only flourish in an otherwise understated composition. The orange beacon serves to reveal the public dimension of the house while maintaining privacy for the residents. Its form and orientation nevertheless consistent with the project’s pragmatic intentions, captures views of the tree canopy above, natural light and cross ventilation.

The completed project is a somewhat unconventional, but extremely flexible courtyard house that creates novel opportunities for different zones, vies and spatial drama throughout the house. It is a discrete project worthy of study.”  

The pop-up section over a living space with Dulux Temptress painted on the walls and ceilings for bold internal and external effect. Designed by Sarah Truscott Architect in Canberra whilst working for Philip Leeson Architects