Wurundjeri
Victoria
Little brick house is a new house in the back yard of an existing property for a mother to downsize into, allowing her son and his partner to move into the existing family home.
It addresses topical issues of housing affordability, increasing density, ageing in place and sustainability – both environmentally and socially, maintaining and strengthening established communities.
The 120m2 site of the new house fronts onto a side street, adjacent to a lane. This new addition to the streetscape would inevitably be conspicuous but its form and materials make it discreet with a quiet confidence.
With a compact 61m2 footprint, 116m2 floor area, the challenge was making small rooms feel spacious. The main living borrows space and light from the courtyard with full-height, full-width, glass sliding doors. A continuous recycled brick wall unites inside and out. Floating cabinetry and voluminous cathedral ceilings increase the illusion of space.
From Maddy:
“It’s a great model for sustainable intergenerational living that maintains the autonomy of each household.”“We share the garden, we share a dog. We don’t live in each other’s pockets at all, but we see each other quite regularly, and we’re there to help each other out,”