The polite exterior of a Melbourne terrace house conceals the richness of the life behind.
Adapted from the British terrace house model, the ability of this terrace house to absorb the idiosyncratic style of its owners demonstrates the resilience of the type.
The Winwood Mckenzie Architecture brief for this project was to create a new bathroom, powder room, and study nook.
The primary rooms were in excellent condition having been delicately restored.
The new interventions had to complement the strength of character of the existing house and art.
When you enter this eclectic 19th century two-storey terrace house, with its ornate arched doorways and deep cornices, you immediately get a sense of its inhabitants unique personalities.
Working collaboratively with the owners Winwood Mckenzie Architecture’s design is a unique expression of the owner’s tastes and interests.
A series of small interventions contribute to the character of the interior.
The new bathroom, powder room, and complex study joinery are conceived as works of art in themselves.
Material selections are layered with meaning and memory.
They have been selected to express their innate character and detailed in a manner to accentuate the craft and work of the contractors.
Hand-painted encaustic tiles, uncut penny rounds that follow the curves around the corners of walls, hand block printed wallpaper referencing the interests of the owner, and waxed timber veneer complement the original materials of the house.
Rooms throughout the house contain cupboards featuring rich timber veneer.
The new study joinery; a multi-function unit containing a study, filing drawers, printer, audio system, and storage space for the desk chair and concealed entry to the basement, features a rich blackwood timber veneer (Acacia melanoxylon a native species to south eastern Australia).
Joinery doors open in different directions depending on the function and use.
Three millimetre steel dividers with integrated custom door hardware give the appearance of an abstract contemporary arrangement of different sized doors.
The proportion of the panels are based on either the golden rectangle or square.
When closed, the unit appears as orderly and lovingly crafted as an antique high chest.
The new spaces possess a strong personality and sense of individuality, the peaceful ornate bathroom, the surprising powder room under the stairs, and the study joinery that reveals its secrets through use.
This density of ideas creates an architecture that is layered, referential, and detailed in conception and realisation.
The engaging peacefulness of the house is enriched yet remains undisturbed.
Project Details
Completion date – 2018
Building levels – 2
Project Team
Architecture
Winwood Mckenzie Architecture
Winwood Mckenzie is an emerging architecture practice based in Melbourne, Australia. They specialise in residential and commercial heritage renovations.
Photography
Sean Fennessy
Sean Fennessy is an Australian photographer based in Melbourne, but with strong ties to his home state of Tasmania. His fresh, minimal style and unique sense of observation has seen his work published internationally.
Some of Sean’s clients include Acne Studios, Belle Magazine, Beyond By Lexus, British Airways, Christies, Monocle, National Gallery of Victoria, QANTAS, Travel + Leisure, Virgin Australia, Vogue Living, and Winkreative.
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2020 Winwood Mckenzie Architecture. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Sean Fennessy. All Rights Reserved.
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