1+2 Architecture acknowledges the Palawa people as the traditional custodians of lutruwita, the lands on which our company is located and where we conduct our business. We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past and present. We are committed to honouring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.
Signalman's Quarters
LOCATION + TRADITIONAL COUNTRY
The Palawa, Battery Point, Tasmania
CLIENT
Not applicable
STATUS
Built (2020)
AWARDS
2021 RAIA TAS - Heritage Award
2021 RAIA TAS - Commendation for Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations & Additions)
2021 Houses Awards - Shortlist: House in a Heritage Context
2021 Houses Awards - Shortlist: House Alteration and Addition over 200 square metres
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Perched above Hobart’s harbour, the Signalman’s Quarters occupies a site deeply connected to Tasmania’s early history. The project involved the restoration and extension of a significant heritage building whose history is intertwined with the colonial semaphore system that once conveyed messages throughout southern Tamanian’s colonial settlement.
Our clients sought to preserve this cultural value while adapting it for contemporary living. Beyond the building itself, the project carried a broader responsibility to protect an important piece of Hobart’s collective heritage - its enduring narrative of settlement, observation and connection provided a compelling foundation for the architectural response.
KEY COLLABORATORS
+ Builder:
+ Landscape Architecture:
+ Town Planner:
+ Heritage Consultant:
+ Land Surveyors:
+ Quantity Surveyor:
+ ESD Consultant:
RED Sustainability Consultants
+ Building Surveyor:
+ Structural and Hydraulic Engineering:
Aldanmark Consulting Engineers
+ Electrical Engineering:
+ Safety In Design Consultant:
Place
The project creates a place where heritage and contemporary life coexist through a carefully crafted architectural relationship. New additions draw from the informal character of traditional timber outbuildings while contributing a refined presence to the streetscape. Openings and internal spaces are arranged to capture sunlight and frame views to both near and distant landscapes. The interplay of solid masonry, timber detailing and contemporary forms creates richness, warmth and permanence. Throughout the project, architectural interventions strengthen the connection between building, site and memory while respecting the historic fabric that defines its identity.
Process
The restoration and extension required a careful balance between conservation and contemporary intervention. Analysis of the existing structure, its historic significance and its heritage streetscape setting informed the design direction. Rather than replicating historic forms, the project explores how memory, fragment and abstraction could establish a meaningful dialogue between past and present. References to former outbuildings, materials and the site's original function were interpreted through a contemporary architectural language. This approach allowed the extension to remain clearly of its time while reinforcing the heritage values of the original quarters.
"The renovation has changed our life and exceeded all expectations. We now enjoy spacious open-plan living with access to a new courtyard. A feature window captures the all-important afternoon sun, the vaulted timber battened ceiling is a standout and Mandy loves her butler’s pantry. The aesthetic is warm, understated and very liveable as a family home.
The restoration of the veranda and stonework has achieved a charming ‘olde-world’ atmosphere. The connection between new and old is seamless with direct access to outdoor living at both ends of the house. We are delighted and now settled for life.”
Client Testimonial
Impact
The Signalman’s Quarters demonstrates how heritage buildings can be renewed without diminishing their cultural significance. Through restoration and sensitive adaptation, the project secures the long-term future of an important historic place while enabling contemporary occupation. New works reveal rather than obscure the site’s layered history, allowing past and present to remain legible. Subtle references to the former semaphore mast, including telegraphic markings embedded within the new chimney, ensure historic narratives continue to resonate.
The restoration and extension have transformed how the owners live in the home, providing the space, light and connection to outdoors they were seeking.
The result is a home that feels both connected to its past and suited to their future. As they describe it, the renovation has changed their lives and exceeded their expectations, creating a warm, understated and highly liveable family home in which they intend to remain for life.
Awards + Jury Citation
RAIA Tasmania 2021
Heritage Award:
"1+2 Architecture have successfully run the gauntlet of heritage overlays, codes, standards and conditions surrounding the Signalman’s Quarters to create a sensitive, well scaled, generous and light-filled home.
1+2 Architecture’s precise mapping, documentation and careful reconciliation of the numerous alterations and additions to the original 1850’s Georgian cottage was superb. At the departure point between the original house and the new addition, the architects bucked the trend of the glazed corridor and instead created an enclosed space with one perfectly proportioned skylight that aligns with the sidelight of the original door, enlightening the moment of transition. 1+2 Architecture have deftly captained the project through the ups, downs and unknowns to create a rich, intricate and layered architecture that is referential yet without pastiche.”
Commendation for Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations & Additions):
“Strong and resolved forms characterise the Signalman’s Quarters alterations and additions. The refined gable geometry and simple yet perfectly executed material composition recall the cottage's Georgian roots, which contrast with the exuberance of the Northern Victorian façade.
1+2 Architecture have reinterpreted the ‘back of house’ heritage requirements and created a bricolage of pitches, lean-tos and awnings that cleverly break down the scale of the addition from the street while artfully concealing a unified, generous and beautifully conceived space within.”
