This 2-storey extension is all about improving the connection between house and garden. By incorporating a courtyard between old and new we attempting to provide greater internal space without cutting areas off from the landscape.

tags: extension, garden, residential

“One of the key pleasures about working with Antony is that he has a brilliant intuitive sense of balance and we could always rely on this. The elements would always be harmoniously arranged, initially on paper and then later, translated into reality. At various points now, as the build has officially finished, we have found ourselves wishing that Antony was standing behind our shoulder, providing his insight on how to arrange form in space” – a client’s perspective.

tags: extension, lighting, residential

Before our meditation platform project in Northcote is even complete it has already been featured in The Age. The article by Jenny Brown discusses the merits of long-term investment in quality space.

tags: media, refurbishment, residential, small

As kids are staying at home longer and longer many families are looking for ways in which members of different generations can live on the one block with a degree of self-sufficiency and privacy. This recent project gives an architecture student his own ‘pad’ in the back garden of his parents’ house – a place to relax, study or hang out with friends.

tags: refurbishment, residential, student

This recently completed refurbishment to an existing house in Brunswick has succeeded in making the spaces fresh and contemporary without major changes.

Check out the project page here

tags: refurbishment, residential, stairs, timber

For this inner-city family home we are exploring ways to deny scale on the street frontage. The simple and apparently arbitrary facade deliberately lacks a reference point, communicating much less than a traditional house.

Check out the project page here

tags: new house, residential, sustainable

It’s amazing what simple fixed louvres can achieve when carefully placed. These visualisations show the sun penetration into a client’s living area at summer and winter solstices and the spring equinox – note the full shade in summer and loads of light (and heat!) in winter.

tags: passive design, residential, sustainable

This project involved a major refurbishment of an existing dwelling in St Kilda. All of the main spaces were retained and the rooms were enriched by the use of joinery and colour.

Simple features such as a chalkboard wall behind the spiral staircase help make the space more exciting and engaging.

tags: colour, refurbishment, residential, stairs

The aim with this house on a corner block in East Ivanhoe was to create a harmony between contemporary style and the post-war tradition that typifies much of Ivanhoe. The use of outdoor space and landscaping was very important – the articulation of timber details responds to the established vegetation, which was preserved through construction.

Click to read Kerrie O’Brien’s review in The Age or check out the project page here

tags: garden, media, new house, residential, tradition

Looking back over the schemes we have developed for californian bungalow extensions reveals emerging patterns.

Most of these houses are family homes in middle-range suburbs nearing the end of their life. The biggest challenge is to inject them with better environmental performance – generally they suffer from poor insulation, unsealed single-glazed windows and arbitrary orientation. But their beauty lies in their planning and spatial arrangements – they are generally very well suited to family life and can be brought back to life with just a little care and effort.

tags: extension, melbourne, planning, residential

“An inner-city warehouse in Melbourne, Australia, has been transformed within into a modest but impressive residence where light, space, and function are the core of its striking design. As well as meeting the client’s demand for contemporary and comfortable living.

Old charm and contemporary design sensitively unite in an outstanding sustainable refurbishment.”

Read the rest of Catherine Oelrichs’ review of our Collingwood Warehouse project here or check out Peter Sackett’s review in Houses

tags: adaptive reuse, media, re-use, residential, timber

This project refurbished the interior of an existing lean to to the rear of an existing double fronted timber dwelling in Fitzroy. The project was organised and built by the owner who worked closely with the carpenters and joiners on this project. The project demonstrates that it is not always necessary to remove the rear section to create a functional and well designed space. By working within the existing shell and carefully considering the detail design of each space the overall house can be made to feel spacious and light. Each of the main spaces use mainly pendant lights designed by Louis Poulsen to create a warmth to each space.

tags: kitchen, lighting, refurbishment, residential

This project was part of an initiative by VICURBAN to promote the use of architects in the volume housing market of Melbourne. The project is designed to create a family home that can be built affordably.

Check out the project page here

tags: affordable, environmental, residential, sustainable

In re-organising the main internal layout of this three-storey apartment, we took great care to consider the overall quality, functionality and comfort of each space. Bold colours were used in the stairwell – a playful space that energises the apartment and takes on different characters during the day due to the changing light from above.

Read Lucinda Strahan’s review in The Age here

tags: apartment, media, refurbishment, residential

This project is a new house for a family with 5 young children and large home office. The project is unusual in that the client is also the builder who has built much of our work over the past 5 years. The site is a large block in a semi-rural location with beautiful views to the bay and city beyond. The site is sloping and the northern aspect is to the front of the block towards the street. The view, orientation and the sloping site meant that the design approach inverted the traditional sequence of spaces of front door, house and backyard.

Check out the review in Home

tags: family, media, new house, residential, space

This project was a refurbishment to an existing Federation style house in St Kilda. The aim was to provide additional accommodation for a 3rd child as well create a new bathroom, ensuite, kitchen, laundry + car parking facilities. The project reinstated the character of the original house that had been substantially altered when the house was being used as a boarding house . The situation was made more difficult by developers who sub-divided the rear section of the property to build apartments about 10 years ago. The design approach installed modern elements into the existing rooms and spaces. These elements complimented the look + feel of the original house to give the entire dwelling a new lease of life.

Check out the review in Home Beautiful

tags: colour, federation, media, refurbishment, residential

This renovation to an existing worker’s cottage in North Fitzroy was one of the first commissions to be completed by the office. There were many challenging features to this site – for instance the site was very long + very thin (42mlong x 4.5mwide), the site is flanked by a laneway, and roughly in the centre of the site there was a boundary trap that we could not build over. Two courtyards created distinct breaks in the long laneway facade. They separate old from new as well as allow light and views to the interior of the house. The interior focus was on the careful connection of the new spaces to the existing. The dining room, living room and bedroom were treated as distinct rooms (rather than open plan) and are of similar proportions to the existing rooms of the cottage.

Check out the reviews from House & Garden and Architectural Review or see the project page here

tags: extension, media, residential, terrace

This project was a renovation to an existing worker’s cottage. The client has lived at this location for about 20 years and has developed a strong sense of community and connection to the local area. For this reason the client had decided to renovate this tiny cottage rather than sell and move away from the area she had grown to love.

The site was very small – only 4.1m wide x 24m – or about 90 square metres and the condition of the original dwelling required considerable work. Due to the proximity of neighbours + the various local council issues, such as heritage and rescode standards, we needed to consult widely to gain support for the project. Contrary to many experiences with town planning the neighbours supported this project.

Click to read the review in Houses Magazine

tags: extension, media, residential, small, stairs

The relationship of the house to the garden and context was changed by extending the dwelling to the side boundaries at the main bedroom and living room. The interior of the living room was opened up to become a large room that received light from three sides. New spaces and views were created with specific consideration given to the connection of interior and exterior spaces. Landscaping, external paving, flooring materials and rendered walls help to strengthen this connection.

tags: extension, fireplace, kitchen, residential

The client, an architectural historian, was keen to adopt simple and adaptable practical solutions that could accommodate future generations, while meeting the current needs of a three-child family. A family dining table is the centrepiece of the large, open kitchen. Provision was made for the future installation of a water tank, existing terracotta tiles were reused and bricks were cleaned for later re-use in landscape works by the owner.

tags: extension, residential, timber