Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people of the Kulin Nation
Victoria
The project is a renovation and extension of a Victorian terrace for two energetic downsizers. The outcome reflects a design process which centred the lives, interests, and participation of the clients as equal to any other architectural concerns. This form of process allowed for a deeper engagement between all parties, imbuing the outcome with the meaningful stories and sensibilities of the owners.
The building is a contextually sensitive renovation where form, material and expression are all driven by the uncovering and collecting of personal and contextual references.
The architecture learns from the site’s own established historical typology of a ‘house with outbuilding’, reinstating a separate pavilion in the garden to address specific function with added amenity. An extension to the main dwelling also learns from the existing, arranging simple, well-proportioned spaces into a semblance of rooms and surrounding gardens.
We, a pair of energetic down-sizers, with strong views on how we each want to live, needed a creative Team who would listen well.
Our brief to Alex was to create a warm, light filled home, maximising energy efficiency, and making a very small footprint meet a large number of demands for family living – all on one level.
We have just that – recycled bricks anchor the palette, precious pieces of furniture carrying our stories have found a place, grandchildren play and stay in the added gem that is the “Judio” (Judy’s studio) nestled in the courtyard.
Alex Lake, Design Architect
Rita Liao, Project Architect
Ben Shackleton, Project Architect
Amanda Oliver Gardens, Landscape Consultant
R.I. Brown, Structural Engineer
The Permit Group, Building Surveyor
Greensphere, ESD Consultant