Elm 2

Location: North Melbounre

Status: Completed in 2019

Alterations to existing single residence with single-storey addition.

A long and narrow terrace house, the alterations and additions significantly improve the worn and obsolete existing condition into a modern and highly functional house with thoughtful insertions of courtyards flanking key rooms of the house. The client’s preference for single-storey living was a significant design driver, requiring the house be built out rather than up. As such, courtyards were inserted to serve as punctuators and to allow for sufficient natural light and views of the outside, marking transition zones from private (bedrooms), to public (living, dining and kitchen) to service areas (laundry, powder and bathroom) and breaking up what might otherwise have been a monotonous slab of continuous rooms.

Photo credit: Wei Wei