This House Never Ends
Architecture Residential Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
33 Images
Want to download these images?
Make sure you confirm usage rights with the BowerKit owner / contact person.
|
1. Rear view seen from the trampoline The recycled brick home provides an impressive backdrop for the in-ground trampoline. Peter Clarke 5304 px 7952 px 10 MB A3 print |
|
|
2. Street view Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 15 MB A3 print |
|
|
3. Side entrance The main entrance was relocated to the side of the house. Shannon McGrath 3648 px 5472 px 13 MB A3 print |
|
|
4. Layers Behind the Edwardian façade layers of different material are revealed. Shannon McGrath 3619 px 5445 px 11 MB A3 print |
|
|
5. Courtyard in the day A central courtyard provides the transition between street and home and gives a sense of arrival. Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 15 MB A3 print |
|
|
6. Timber link The timber screened passage links the old house and new extension. Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 12 MB A3 print |
|
|
7. Entrance courtyard The former internal fireplace was rebuilt to be used outdoors. Peter Clarke 4085 px 6125 px 15 MB A3 print |
|
|
8. Vista into lounge Shannon McGrath 5417 px 3611 px 16 MB A3 print |
|
|
9. Vista into lounge and onto roof terrace 3648 px 5472 px 14 MB A3 print |
|
|
10. View into kitchen and onto roof terrace Shannon McGrath 3648 px 5472 px 16 MB A3 print |
|
|
11. Dining room Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 12 MB A3 print |
|
|
12. The kitchen Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 11 MB A3 print |
|
|
13. View from kitchen into lounge Shannon McGrath 3612 px 5418 px 10 MB A3 print |
|
|
14. Entrance into lounge Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 12 MB A3 print |
|
|
15. Lounge room 4893 px 3262 px 3 MB A4 print |
|
|
16. Lounge room detail Shannon McGrath 3648 px 5472 px 9 MB A3 print |
|
|
17. View from lounge into dining room and passage Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 14 MB A3 print |
|
|
18. Stair, window seat and dining room Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 11 MB A3 print |
|
|
19. View back into dining room Shannon McGrath 3648 px 5472 px 10 MB A3 print |
|
|
20. Family bathroom Shannon McGrath 3648 px 5472 px 9 MB A3 print |
|
|
21. Ensuite with view onto green roof Shannon McGrath 5472 px 3648 px 8 MB A3 print |
|
|
22. Night sky 6666 px 9999 px 15 MB A3 print |
|
|
23. Courtyard at night Peter Clarke 7952 px 5304 px 17 MB A3 print |
|
|
24. Chimney retained Peter Clarke 5304 px 7952 px 16 MB A3 print |
|
|
25. Backyard in the evening Peter Clarke 4271 px 6404 px 6 MB A3 print |
|
|
26. Ground Floor Plan The old weatherboard house and the new two storey extension are separated by a central courtyard, while the new section is rotated 45 degrees for a better connection with the site. The rear incorporates a ground level trampoline. 4294 px 2541 px 4 MB A4 print |
|
|
27. First Floor Plan The first floor contains a master bedroom and home office and provides access to a generous terrace. 4240 px 2659 px 3 MB A4 print |
|
|
28. Roof Top Plan On the third level a roof top terrace provides a view of both the city and Mount Dandenong in the distance. 4220 px 2647 px 2 MB A4 print |
|
|
29. Longitudinal Section The old weatherboard house and new two storey extension are connected with a timber link. 3709 px 2598 px 2 MB A4 print |
|
|
30. Ground Floor Plan The old weatherboard house and the new two storey extension are separated by a central courtyard, while the new section is rotated 45 degrees for a better connection with the site. The rear incorporates a ground level trampoline. 4294 px 2541 px 3 MB A4 print |
|
|
31. First Floor Plan The first floor contains a master bedroom and home office, and provides access to a generous terrace. 4240 px 2659 px 2 MB A4 print |
|
|
32. Roof Top Plan On the third level a roof terrace provides a view of both the city and Mount Dandenong in the distance. 4220 px 2647 px 2 MB A4 print |
|
|
33. Longitudinal Section The old weatherboard house and new two storey extension are connected with a timber link. 3709 px 2598 px 1 MB A4 print |
Description
This House Never Ends
Nestled in a heritage protected inner-city suburb of Melbourne this is a home with a sense of discovery.
Designing a family home can be a complex venture: a house should be functional, environmentally sensitive, affordable and a good fit into the neighbourhood. A home should provide shelter with a sense of space that is your own; it should be light filled and warm. This determines siting, layout, room proportions and the articulation of the building fabric through openings, materials and details.
This is an extension at the back of an Edwardian weatherboard house in a residential area with an historic but diverse building stock. The built neighbourhood is dense, fragmented and eclectic, providing starting point and inspiration for our design. We opted to stretch the building over the entire length of the site, rotated it 45 degrees and pulled it apart. A somewhat unexpected move, this generated an interesting sequence of interconnected spaces and an experience of gradual revelation as you move through the house.
Arrival
The house was designed for arriving by bicycle. Entry is now through a new north facing courtyard facing that separates the old house from the new extension at the rear and provides a sense of arrival. It is formed by three walls with three different materials: weatherboard of the old house, recycled brick of the new part and a link clad in a timber screen.
The Unexpected
The timber link organises the home into children’s wing in the old and communal living areas in the new part. Placing the new buildings in a 45-degree angle generates vistas through rooms and outdoor spaces, creating complexity and depth.
Open to The Sky
Upstairs areas in inner-city houses can often be neglected due to overlooking, building bulk and overshadowing. In many cases, they have very little relationship with the immediate neighbourhood. This house does the opposite: a first-floor patio accessible from the lounge and study is private but provides views of neighbouring buildings as well as your own. A private terrace on the second floor allows for views over rooftops, the city and the nearby mountains.
Materials and Details
An important attribute of a home should be thermal comfort, which is most enjoyed when achieved with passive means. The design of this house applies passive solar design principles: solar control, zoning and compartmentalisation, thermal mass, insulation and cross ventilation. It is highly insulated, features high-performance double-glazed timber doors and windows and is high in thermal mass assisted by recycled bricks for internal walls. Power is generated with a 4.75 kW grid interactive photovoltaic system. The home does not use gas; heating and hot water are generated through a heat pump; the cooktop is induction.
Overall, this is a comfortable family home on literally many levels. Rather than being a single object it is conceived as a series of different spaces and textures that let you experience the house like a journey that may never end.
Questions and Answers
What was the brief?
The brief to us was to repair and extend this dilapidated Edwardian weatherboard house in inner-city Melbourne into a home for a family with young children. The house needed to be suitable to accommodate overseas relatives and friends for longer periods of time, as well as allowing for an active social and work life for both adults and children.
What were the key challenges?
This was an ambitious program for an inner-city site surrounded and overshadowed by two-storey buildings in very close proximity. To ensure privacy, sunlight access and a good balance between inside and out, we were required to make considered design decisions how to lay out and place the building on the block.
What were the solutions?
We opted to stretch the building to the end of the block, pull apart and rotate 45 degrees. This allows for good sunlight access and solar control and generates vistas and connectivity within the home and to the outside. Internal and exterior spaces are equally weighted. This extends to upstairs with a large first floor terrace for entertainment and play accessible from the lounge and home office. From there you can access a private roof top terrace allowing for views over the roofscape, city and nearby mountains.
How is the project unique?
A home should provide shelter with a sense of space that is your own; it should be light filled and warm. This determines plan inside and out, room proportions and the articulation of the building fabric through openings, materials and details,
This is a house with a sense of discovery. It has no clearly identifiable building form but a series of almost equally sized rooms both inside as well as outside that each relate differently to each other. As a result, this home is experienced not as an object but a journey that doesn't want to end.
What are the sustainability features?
A sustainable building aims to reduce the embodied energy for its construction and the operational energy during its lifetime. The design of this house applies passive solar design principles: solar control, zoning and compartmentalisation, thermal mass, insulation and cross ventilation, It is highly insulated, features high performance double glazed doors and windows and is high in thermal mass by using a concrete slab for floor and recycled bricks for internal walls. Power is generated with a 4.75 kW grid interactive photovoltaic system. The home does not use gas; heating and hot water are generated through a heat pump; the cooktop is induction.
Key products used:
Recycled bricks from "The Brick Recyclers" Melbourne http://thebrickrecyclers.squarespace.com/
Timber screens Blackbutt from Britton Timbers https://brittontimbers.com.au/
Hot water heat pump from Sanden https://www.sanden-hot-water.com.au/
Rigid thermal insulation from Kingspan https://www.kingspan.com/au/en-au/about-kingspan/kingspan-insulation
Acoustic perforated ceiling VogleFuge from Atkar https://atkar.com.au/feature-products/voglfuge/
PV cells from SunPower with inverter from Solar Edge https://sunpower.maxeon.com/au/ https://www.solaredge.com/aus/
Details
| Project size | 254 m2 |
| Site size | 431 m2 |
| Completion date | 2020 |
| Building levels | 2 |
Project team
|
Steffen Welsch | Design Architect |
|
Steffen Welsch Architects | Architect |
| Renovation One | Builder | |
| Woodcraft Mobiliar | Joiner |