History and site context informed the design for this Victorian Terrace renovation.
Curved front and rear streets produce a series of wedge-shaped plots. Generous street frontages taper down to rear boundaries barely wide enough to swing a (bob) cat. With multiple site constraints - narrowing side boundary walls, adjoining buildings to each side and rear living spaces split across multiple levels – bringing natural light into the core of the house was a key goal for the project. The existing rear living spaces were rationalised to form a kitchen living and dining room on a single level, allowing natural light to brighten the central spaces in the house. A decent amount of the upstairs floor plan was forfeited to enable a 2-storey shaft to bring light down over the kitchen bench. A highlight window in the first-floor bathroom takes further advantage of this natural light source, bringing a soft glow into the space.
Steel framed glass doors extend the full width and height of the ground floor living room to maximise light penetration; however, the rear façade’s west orientation meant some appropriate sun minimisation was required during the hot summer months. A red steel eave sits atop the steel framed doors and a matching retractable awning nestles neatly into the red brick façade creating a crafted but monolithic impression. The simple palette of handmade red bricks, red mortar and red steel is plain and recessive, referencing the traditional Victorian terrace back building. The smaller upper window, matching the proportions of the original rear window and perforated plantation shutters further enhance this nod to the building’s past.
Inside, the spaces are minimal to maximise a sense of space. Splashes of blue, granite benchtops and larch flooring give the rooms texture, colour and life. The central island bench-come-dining table sits in contrast to an otherwise restrained space. This fixed furniture piece, crafted from American oak, provides a strong focal point in the space. The bench cranks to follow the irregular angles of the site, a circular cutout in the table demarcates the hinge point. The dining table top slices through the island bench forming cutout drawer pulls and the stone benchtop glides over the table top, softening the junction and integrating the two elements of the single unit.
The tightness of the site and floor plan meant that this was a project of small margins. Producing maximum impact with considered design moves. Deliberating over the last 20mm, to be given to the dining table or the circulation space? Externally, this approach is continued but here it is our project’s location within a rich and full heritage context which determined a restrained and nuanced design approach.
