Mavis House is a contemporary and minimal renovation to a modest house in Yarraville, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne, Australia.
ltereco Design was commissioned to transform this post-war brick-veneer house into an expansive family home.
The client’s core goal was to create additional space to accommodate the needs of their family. The existing dwelling of 110 m2 was retained, the existing 27 m2 brick shed incorporated into the design, and 67 m2 of new space built.
The Itereco Design team, led by James Goodlet, sought to celebrate family life with their design, whilst carefully considering the history of the site and its environmental impact on its surrounding context.
The client’s specific requirements included:
- Walk-in robe and ensuite to the master bedroom, a multi-purpose room, and a renovated bathroom. The design provided for these within the context of the existing home with some internal wall modifications.
- Open kitchen-living-dining zone. This space needed to be light and bright with a strong connection to the outdoor space and provide privacy from their neighbours.
- Passive design. A reduction of mechanical heating and cooling was required along with a focus on energy efficiency throughout.
- Increased storage capacity and bike storage. These elements were created within an existing brick garage.
The original portion of the home houses the bedrooms/sleeping areas. The modern extension to the rear touches the existing home lightly, bringing the outside in.
The neighbouring dwelling to the east created overshadowing and overlooking. The design response was to anchor the east side and focus glazing into a central west-facing courtyard, towards the backyard. That way the building itself became the buffer between the neighbour and the home’s secluded private open space. Hardwood timber screens covered with creeping vines were also planned.
The separation between the old and new buildings allowed for garden space in between, creating a sense of being surrounded by green. The separation of the new extension from the existing house could be considered an inefficient use of the site. But the separation brings in natural light and ventilation, solar energy, and the opportunity for visible green space from the internal spaces.
One of the key features of the Mavis House project is the towering 3m tall double-hung, north-facing windows that flood the living area with sunlight and heat the polished concrete slab inside.
The eave above these windows provides shading in the hot summer months to prevent overheating or reliance on air-conditioning. The windows also open from the bottom up bringing the outdoors in and promoting cross-ventilation through the living zone.
High-performance insulation, solar panels, and double-glazing throughout enhanced the existing building fabric.
The restrained materials palette used reflects the architecture of the project; a meeting of classic and contemporary. The cooling and minimalist palette, enriched with solid timber details and a dowel battened screening, creates a welcoming series of seamlessly connected spaces.
The fine handcrafted joinery elements in the living area and kitchen offer a light-filled breakfast bar that extends into a year-round outdoor entertainment area, and a cosy living unit and fireplace offering a place of refuge.
The transformation of this modest post-war house into a contemporary and expansive family home was judged as being a big success by Itereco Design’s client.
Key Products Used
External cladding – Lightsy – Karma
New bit entry pendant – Mark Douglass Design
Exterior paint – Dulux Domino, Dulux Whisper White Quarter, Cutek CD50 timber protection oil
Interior paint – Lexicon Quarter
Fencing – Plans for a future hardwood batten fence to the street and to further screen the private open space
Project Details
Project size – 212 m2
Site area – 530 m2
Project budget – $600,000
Completion date – 2020
Building levels – 1
Project Team
Building Designers
Altereco Design
Altereco Design is a boutique building design practice creating beautiful and functional homes in Melbourne’s leafy suburbs and throughout regional Victoria.
Landscape Construction
Lygon Street Nursery
Lygon St Nursery is owned and managed by local resident Michael Khalil. Michael has transformed 245 Lygon St into a green haven and inner city plant Nursery in Brunswick East. The nursery offers a collection of quality indoor and outdoor plants, gardening products, tools and books for all your gardening needs. Lygon St Nursery is also the home of Lygon St Landscapes, a holistic landscape service for any space.
Photography
Photo Gallery
Click on a thumbnail image to enlarge.
Design © 2020 Altereco Design. All Rights Reserved.| Images © 2020 Jade Cantwell. All Rights Reserved.
Get the Builtworks Letter
In every edition of the Builtworks Letter, you’ll get the behind-the-scenes backstory as to how buildings are designed, built, and brought to life.
You’ll hear compelling stories, learn surprising ideas, meet engaging characters, and discover unique voices.