After converting four industrial buildings into living/working environments, architect Matt Brew still has an appetite for the challenge. It's partly the excitement involved in the process but also the resulting generous living spaces that he enjoys. A typical house is too confining, especially when you have classic cars to house, plus a collection of large artworks that he and wife Kate Heatley have built up over the past 10 years. The buildings also provide premises for Matt's architecture practice, Cantilever.
"The joy of city fringe buildings is you can just jump in and do something different," says Matt. "But I also try to keep these spaces as flexible as possible."
After the birth of daughter Tallulah four years ago, the couple, who were living in a converted building in Newton, bought these former fencing factory premises because of their proximity to Basque Park and the fact that Cantilever was growing and needed larger premises.
Apart from its location, the thing that attracted Matt to this building was the quality of light inside, afforded by the windows on the northeast corner and the skylights stripped across the roof. With block walls and concrete floors, the building comfortably retains heat, especially with the ceiling now insulated.
