A Classic Victorian Terrace, Reimagined As Three Light-Filled Pavilions

Fitzroy Bridge House by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design started as a typical Victorian terrace: beautiful, but lacking in natural light and ventilation.

Rather than add a contrasting extension (a common heritage renovation approach), the architects designed a series of mews-like buildings to expand the Melbourne home.

Breaking the linear layout that typically defines these historic terraces, the updated home features three separate volumes, linked by a glass bridge above and two internal courtyards below. This ingenious approach invites light and air into the narrow site, without compromising on movement or space within.

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A Timeless Renovation Incorporating Three Eras Of Design History

When a heritage house contains a newer addition, such as an 80s or 90s extension, an architect is often briefed to remove it.

But in the case of the Autumn House in Carlton North, Studio Bright were instructed to create a design that sympathetically united the original Victorian terrace, the 1980s Mick Jörgensen renovation, and new contemporary elements.

The result is an absolute feat!

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A Cheerful Brick Addition To A Weatherboard Home

Olaver Architecture have worked on many single-fronted Melbourne terrace renovations over the years, with each project presenting new territory to explore and a building vocabulary to expand on.

In the case of this Brunswick home, the architects saw an opportunity to capitalise on the existing weatherboard’s sloping site, and play with ceiling heights to demarcate spaces.

The resulting solid brick addition is exactly what the clients, Taryn Stenvei and Pat O’Neill, asked for: a sunny, personality-filled home built for entertaining, and the realities of young family living.

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A Mindful Multi-Generational Family Home In Clifton Hill

Creating a brand new home that respects the heritage context of an existing streetscape is no easy feat.

So when Clare Cousins Architects were enlisted to replace a post-war cottage in Clifton Hill with a large, multi-generational family home, the architects started by drawing inspiration from what was already there.

The resulting Esplanade House features salvaged bricks from the site’s original property, thoughtfully incorporating the past into its intriguing design — woven together with Fiona Brockhoff-designed gardens.

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A Traditional Queenslander Turned Multigenerational, Japanese-Inspired Home

The owners of this Queenslander in Brisbane’s Northgate came to Arcke architects with an idea: lift the original structure, and create a self-contained, wheelchair-accessible apartment underneath.

Inspired by this vision and the client’s love of Japanese architecture, Arcke took this one step further, creating an ‘engawa’ (a Japanese covered area facing a garden) between the two storeys.

This shared space and its relationship to the garden provides social interaction between the multigenerational family occupants on both levels, and a serene green outlook able to be enjoyed from above, below, and within.

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An Architect’s Own Tranquil, Terrazzo-Filled Home

Melbourne-based architect Lisa Breeze is the master of taking seemingly unremarkable homes, and making them special.

This Victorian house is Northcote is the second project Lisa has designed for herself (the first was equally delightful!), although this time, with her family in tow.

What was once a rundown, dark period cottage has been transformed into a more spacious, highly functional family home, full of bold design flourishes!

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This New Northcote Home Takes Its Cues From Italian Villages

Think of West Bend House — a new home designed by MRTN Architects with designers Brave New Eco — as an ‘inhabited pathway.’

Located on an elongated block in Northcote, the house was conceptualised as a ‘small village’ of clearly defined sections inside and out that connect spaces from front to back.

The majority of the home is not visible from the street. Rather, West Bend House is intentionally recessive, allowing the garden by SBLA Landscape Architecture and views of Merri Creek trees to serve as the focal point of residents and passersby.

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Step Inside A Thornbury Extension Designed Around Its Future Gardens

Vivarium is a totally transformed Thornbury cottage intended to be ‘consumed’ by its future garden.

Designed by Architecture Architecture, new living areas are entangled with green spaces thanks to curved walls and an enchanting central courtyard. The project also successfully adheres to the homeowner’s requests to minimise their environmental footprint.

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A ‘Folding’ Edwardian Home, Designed To Maximise Natural Light

Previous renovations had significantly altered this Edwardian home, removing many of its original heritage details in the process, but doing little to address its lack of natural light.

Timmins + Whyte Architecture + Design were brought in to work their magic, essentially pressing ‘reset’ on the entire home. The practice completely rebuilt the oldest rooms for modern sustainability standards, while adding a new extension with an innovative ‘folding’ roof addressing both the pattern of the street and natural light.

As the project’s name and roof form suggests, renovations have improved this entire house 10 fold!

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A Modern Court House For Yackandandah

Court House is a project named both for its design surrounding a central courtyard, and its position next door to a genuine former court house in Yackandandah, in north-east Victoria.

The newly-built house was created by locals (an architect born in the town), for locals (a client returning to the region they grew up in).

Balancing council expectations and their own vision for the project, Archier designed a house that positively contributes to Yackandandah’s built environment, while reflecting the owners’ values.

Read the full story here.