The family purchased a long-abandoned power plant instead of an apartment. The 100-year-old building was planned to be simply demolished, but buyers saw potential in it. And they managed to open it completely a year later: the couple turned the building into a house from a glossy magazine and held a video tour for the press. Mark and Karen Bartkevichus have been looking for a house with a good view from the windows and for adequate money for a long time. The abandoned substation attracted Mark – as the lead architect of a small bureau, he understood its potential. It was more difficult to buy a building than to repair it.
Legal formalities and obtaining permits took a lot of resources, Mark admitted to reporters. But the location of the station had to recoup all costs a hundredfold. The building stands on a high hill, overlooking the city of Launceston, the mountains and the Teimar River.
The family immediately decided to preserve the historical appearance of the station. The reconstruction took the couple about a year. After the renovation, the building has a large open kitchen combined with a common dining room. A staircase assembled from Tasmanian ebony leads to the second floor. There are three bedrooms, a master dressing room and access to the terrace. The house is conceived as completely autonomous: it is able to switch to solar energy and work regardless of city communications. It all cost us almost half a million dollars.
Frankly, for this money in Australia, we could not buy so many apartments, – said Mark. A short tour of the station: The family admitted that the implementation of the project required a lot of strength from them. The second time they would not go for it.
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