Cairngorm House NSW, Balmain East home design, Modern Sydney residence photos, Australian property

Cairngorm House in Balmain, NSW

5 August 2025

Design: David Mitchell Architects

Location: Balmain East, New South Wales, Australia

Photos © Clinton Weaver

Cairngorm House, Balmain, New South Wales, Australia

Cairngorm House is an elegant, heritage listed, double-storey sandstone dwelling separated by a glass walkway and courtyard with a heavy, concrete form extension punctuated by expansive apertures allowing the sun to trace its way throughout the day.

The addition is a highly contemporary representation of the single storey rear kitchen add-on that was typical of buildings of the era. We have extrapolated this low pitched ceiling ‘lean-to’ with a dramatic soaring ceiling and glazed openings resulting in a light filled, striking volume.

Deep north overhangs allow the summer’s natural ambient light to flood the space, whilst allowing direct solar access into the space for the winter sun. Being a heritage listed home, the grandeur of the house’s scale needed to be retained, while subtle manipulations achieved more appropriate spaces for day to day use for the clients.

The building design process set out to achieve a bold, expressive addition to an elegant heritage listed home, constantly negotiating conflicting aspects:
– A bold addition that remains secondary to the main house
– A solid, heavy, concrete mass addition, yet a feeling of being light, delicate and weightless
– Ensuring the contrast in buildings highlighted the heritage elements while allowing the contemporary design to be equally refined.

Design aspects that are incorporated include:
– Passive solar design, insulation and energy-efficient glazing to allow optimal thermal comfort
– Utilisation of locally sourced materials where possible, to lessen the environmental impact and support sustainability
– Retaining existing walls and materials where possible, to minimise waste and preserve the building’s embodied energy.

Where the old home was inward looking (typical of the era), the sun can now be traced throughout the house at all parts of the day. This natural urge to follow the sun has allowed the clients to be constantly surprised by the rooms they spend time in at various points of the day unconsciously based around this primal urge.

Deep north overhangs allow the summer’s natural ambient light to flood the space, whilst allowing direct solar access into the space for the winter sun.