12 minute read
Residential Architecture Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Arcadia • Architecture architecture • Photographer: Tom Ross
The Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations & Additions) category recognises achievement in the design of projects which include renovations, alterations or additions to an existing building whether or not the building was residential in nature in the first instance. Projects designed for single occupancy or up to two selfcontained dwellings may be entered in this category. Generally, projects considered in this category fall within BCA Class 1a.
Holly Board RAIA Jury chair Antony Martin RAIA Juror
Mick Moloney RAIA Juror
Jury chair report
In this year’s alterations and additions category 31 out of 32 entries were Melbourne based. As such many projects were on challenging tight sites, squeezed between and concealed behind existing fabric. There was a closeness to how these homes were understood, that the full experience of the architecture was not discovered until the jury stepped inside. Once inside many projects celebrated the experience of journeying through the interior, where the home was encountered as an unfolding of spaces, concealed and then revealed. Externally, outdoor spaces were also often internalised, becoming room-like and servicing the interior. This inward-looking condition, an interiorisation of the architecture, was a consistent presence through many projects. A number of projects championed an approach of keep and make great to large proportions of the found condition, deciding to work with the existing rather than erasing. The jury enjoyed seeing how our professional responsibility of reducing and reusing was being acted upon with pride. Furthermore, this approach raised questions about what we historically value, and at what point an existing condition regardless of its age is worthy of recognition and retention. There was an honesty in these projects where the site, street and building’s history were not selectively edited back to something polished, but rather kept and built upon as a candid memory of place, reworked for the future. The jury enjoyed hearing the many dynamic relationships between architects, clients and skilled, passionate tradespeople. We saw how the essence of some projects, the moments of magic, grew out of conversations, from trying things out, from onsite experimentation and skillful crafting. It was a joy and privilege to visit so many wonderful projects. The jury was unanimous in its decision of which projects were deserving of an award and we warmly congratulate all those awarded and commended.
Category sponsor
The John and Phyllis Murphy Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) Arcadia by Architecture architecture
Wurundjeri Country
With affectionate memories of living in wide open landscapes, the clients for this Brunswick house tasked Architecture architecture with making their everyday living experience akin to their cherished understandings of place and home. This house is not obvious. It is curious, disruptive and, at times, perplexing. Like rural landscapes, foreground, middle-ground and longdistance views are embedded in its arrangement. The home shifts as you encounter it – a small turn of the head or a move sideways opens up new perspectives, often layered and deep. Windows, located on the corners of rooms, dissolve the sense of containment and spaces are doubled through reflection and transparency. There is a looseness to Arcadia’s character. Opposites are everywhere and this interplay, between definable states, keeps the house informal and imperfect, allowing your imagination to wander. Defining how old and new relate is equally enigmatic. In places, the existing has been cut into, turned inside out and pulled apart. Arcadia offers opportunities for escapism from its urban context to wider remote places and in doing so creates a sense of emotional belonging for its owners. For the rest of us, Arcadia provides an unshackling of the limits of the suburban home.
Practice team: Michael Roper (Design Architect), Nicholas James (Design Architect), Angus Hamilton (Project Architect) Consultant / Construction team: Amanda Oliver Gardens (Landscape Consultant), Meyer Consulting (Structural Engineer), The Goodmen Building Surveyors (Building Surveyor), Filter ESD (ESD Consultant) Builder: Moon Building Group Photographer: Tom Ross
Arcadia • Architecture architecture • Photographer: Tom Ross
Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) Arthur by Oscar Sainsbury Architects
Wurundjeri Country
Arthur tackles the perennial dilemma of how to create a light-filled contemporary addition to a heritage building on a very modest budget. The design demonstrates a mastery of restraint by focusing on warm materiality, spatial composition, and connection to the outdoors. The result is a joyful and unpretentious family home that revitalises the original house while creating opportunities for the architect and his family to engage with the entire site. Respecting the inherent solidity of the original brick house, the renovation component imposes only minor interventions. The design really lets its hair down in the new addition, including a bold slice in the floorplan that creates a splayed north-facing courtyard – a simple but powerful gesture that successfully draws light deep into the interior. Glass walls and large sliding doors work in conjunction with exposed internal timber beams and pergolas to create continuity between the interior and the garden. Materials were chosen for ease of construction for the owner/ builder/architect but also act to reinforce the home’s informal and welcoming atmosphere. The design of the indoor/ outdoor kitchen bench perhaps best encapsulates the social feel of the home as it invites you to sit at the very edge of the building envelope and let whatever is happening spill outside.
Builder: Owner Builder Photographer: Rory Gardiner
Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) Autumn House by Studio Bright
Wurundjeri Country
Autumn House presents a carefully considered negotiation across different scales, weaving together distinct architectural histories and suburban streetscapes, with great attention given to the tactility of materials. An encapsulation of modern family life, the project pivots around a mature Elm Tree in a series of courtyards and rooms that lead you meandering one to the next. Deliberate moves have been made to honour both the original Victorian terrace and the later Jorgenson extension, while still allowing Studio Bright’s addition to breathe a new vitality into the family home. Entering off the laneway and into the heart of the kitchen, you are immediately conscious of this balancing act. A series of openings play out – some reinstated, some rescaled, others directing you toward the sky above – but always framing a seductive glimpse of the next interior. Materials have been pushed, tested and sculpted establishing a contemporary language of domestic ornamentation and dedication to craft. Concrete, timber and painted steel reflect the blushing tones of the existing Elm and provide a backdrop for newly planted creeping vines and foliage to slowly adorn the house, actively reflecting the changing seasons. It is this ephemeral quality partnered with the robustness of materials that creates a sense of timelessness within the new hybrid dwelling.
Practice team: Melissa Bright (Director / Design Architect), Maia Close (Project Architect), Rob McIntyre (Director for Design Realisation / Architect), Emily Watson (Architect), Annie Suratt (Associate), Pei She Lee (Graduate of Architecture) Consultant / Construction team: Meyer Consulting (Engineer), Eckersley Garden Architecture (Landscape Consultant) Builder: ProvanBuilt Photographer: Rory Gardiner
Award for Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions) Stable & Cart House by Clare Cousins Architects
Wurundjeri Country
Stable & Cart House converts an historic stable building into a home that seeks to embrace the patina and history of the past 100 years of continual use. The original building fabric is treated with an almost museum like reverence, while the additional elements needed to transform its function are designed with a deliberateness, so that they are at once clearly new, but also sit in harmony with the original building. The living spaces are located within the full height of the original warehouse. A large glazed courtyard provides an abundance of natural light to the interior – a simple plan that divides the spaces and provides an outdoor connection. What is not so simple is the striking russet coloured stair that folds back on itself to give access to the elevated walkway and upper level rooms. This pattern of simplicity coupled with complexity is repeated throughout the resolution of the design. Stable & Cart House is a project that was initiated by a passionate client, brought to life by an abundantly skilled architect and then realised by a committed builder. Each of the three parties made a clear and discernible contribution to the project and the resulting whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Practice team: Clare Cousins (Design Architect), Oliver Duff (Project Architect), Elliot Lind (Graduate of Architecture) Consultant / Construction team: Keith Long & Associates (Structural Engineer) Builder: ProvanBuilt Photographer: Sharyn Cairns
Brunswick House by Placement
Country: Wurundjeri
Single-fronted Victorian workers terraces offer more in the way of constraints than they do opportunities when it comes to creating a contemporary home. Placement has managed to work within those constraints to design a highly refined and beautifully detailed home that perfectly suits the needs of their client. Brunswick House is an imaginative interpretation of the possibilities for regeneration of this common housing type.
Builder: Inner North Carpentry
Photographer: Tom Ross
Eastham Street by MUIR Architecture
Country: Wurundjeri
Eastham Street bravely interrogates the ad hoc nature of inner city dwellings, working deftly within the existing walls and lineage of additions on site. Elements often overlooked, such as the lean-to garage and haphazard arrangement of ceilings in the Victorian terrace have been championed through meticulous detailing and a consciously internalised plan. The dedicated attention to craftsmanship unfolds externally through the resolution of a latticed steel structure and elevated terrace, positioning the home with honesty in the complexity of its urban condition.
Builder: Project Edge
Photographer: Peter Bennetts
Shortlisted • Courtyard House • Ha Architecture • LocBuild Pty. Ltd. • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Tom Ross
Shortlisted • Preston House II • Olaver Architecture • Hyland Built • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Ben Hosking
Albert Park Residence • MAArchitects • Frameworks • Bunurong Country • Photographer Derek Swalwell
Glencairn • Trower Falvo Architects • Grossi Constructions • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Ben Hosking
Isabella Grove House • Robert Simeoni Architects • Visioneer Pty Ltd Builders • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Derek Swalwell Shortlisted • Hermon • WOWOWA Architecture • Basis Builders • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Martina Gemmola
Shortlisted • Richmond House • Therefore • LocBuild • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Rory Gardiner
Austin House • Evissa • Evissa • Bunurong Country • Photographer Tom Wilkinson
HAROLD • Coy Yiontis Architects • CBD Contracting • Bunurong Country • Photographer Peter Clarke
LanesEnd • UrbanID • Jonas Construction • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Dean Bradley Shortlisted • Kew Cottage • Walter&Walter • Builders of Architecture • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Ben Hosking
Shortlisted • South Yarra House • Pop Architecture and Beatrix Rowe • Cloverleigh Home Improvements • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Willem-Dirk du Toit
Fireside House • Breathe • Never Stop Group • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Tom Ross
Hollywood • Oscar Sainsbury Architects in collaboration with Insider / Outsider • Cordell Projects • Bunurong Country • Photographer Rory Gardiner
Malvern House • Lande Architects • Standout Projects • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Derek Swalwell Shortlisted • Nido House • Angelucci Architects • Belarte Building Group • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Dave Kulesza
Albert Park Lantern House • Topology Studio • Cassina Homes • Bunurong Country • Photographer Paul Hermes
FOS - The Little House That Could • EBD Architects • Never Stop Group • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Dianna Snape
Hood House • Mihaly Slocombe • Builders of Architecture • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Tatjana Plitt
Narrow House • Matt Gibson Architecture & Design in collaboration with Kestie Lane Studio • Visioneer Builders • Bunurong Country • Photographer Shannon McGrath
Picket House • Austin Maynard Architects • CBD Contracting • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Derek Swalwell
Wakanui trail house • Ben Callery Architects • Keenan Built • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Jack Lovel Ponds • WOWOWA Architecture • Never Stop Group • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Martina Gemmola
Yarra Bend House • Austin Maynard Architects • Dimpat • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Derek Swalwell The Bridge House • Kister Architects • Basis Builders • Bunurong Country • Photographer Peter Bennetts Upside Down House • Sibling Architecture • Sceam • Wurundjeri Country • Photographer Christine Francis
