Copper Pot House

The subject site is situated in an area of Kew in Melbourne that is primarily of early 20th century character.

The existing house, a Californian bungalow, was in almost original condition and had been Jane Riddell Architects’ client’s childhood home.

Her client had three main criteria:

Unlock the potential of the internal spaces and to focus them outwards whilst maintaining their essential character.
Provide natural light throughout and provide spaces for entertaining connected to the garden.
Secure off-street parking close to access into the house.

The conceptual framework of the house was twofold:

Consolidate the spaces within the existing footprint for modern living whilst creating an outward focus.
Create a new architectural language that would reinvigorate the rear and provide a dynamic presentation to the outdoor living areas.

The spatial arrangement of the rooms were developed around improving the quality and character of natural light, orientated so each entertaining space had a direct connection to the outdoors, in particular the new outdoor entertaining area.

The new architectural language at the rear is responsive to the Californian Bungalow character with its geometric play on the existing gabled forms of the house.

To give the allusion of additional space, the new gables are vaulted.

And the lounge ceiling is timber lined to offer a soft dynamism to the internal volume.

This theme is continued through to the outdoor door space with a deconstructed gable structure forming a pergola over an open-air room.

The external palette is an expression of the geometric play with the continuation of the red brick to the base and the more dynamic forms expressed in the copper shingle cladding.

The materials reference the original craftsmanship typically associated with this era of house.

The works included significant improvements in the environmental amenity and performance of the existing 1920’s building, while also making a series of material choices to limit waste.

Key initiatives in the development of the project included:

The use of recycled brickwork in the project – combining re-used bricks from the site with recycled bricks from the brick pit to reduce waste and improve the carbon footprint of the project.
The use of extensive cross ventilation, eaves and bi-fold windows and doors as a substitute to artificial cooling.
Heavily insulating the house helps reduce energy usage of the house.
The works also included a 10,000-litre, below deck rainwater tank.

Project Details

Project Size – 290 m2
Site Area – 877 m²
Completion Date – 2017
Building Levels – 2

Project Team

Architecture

Jane Riddell Architects

Jane Riddell Architects is an architectural practice for people seeking a new home, holiday house or renovation that truly reflects their individual lifestyle and aspirations.

Jane is a registered Architect in Victoria, and is a long-standing member of the Australian Institute of Architects. She leads a small team of architects who share her passion for residential architecture – and for the people, places and processes involved in creating it.

www.janeriddellarchitects.com.au

Photography

Tom Roe

Tom is an internationally-awarded photographer from the Isle of Wight now based in Melbourne. After graduating in architecture at the University of Bath he took up architectural photography, using his strong understanding of materials, structure, and composition to produce compelling images for some of the world’s leading architects, designers, and builders.

www.tomroephotography.com