Laneway House

• Construction: 10 months
• Builder: Matchvale Pty Ltd-Peter Antonello
• Photography: Derek Swalwell
• Location: North Fitzroy

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.