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Architects: Krisna Cheung Architects
- Area: 3 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Derek Swalwell
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Manufacturers: Ampelite, Beacon Lighting, Bowen Timber, Calmatronics, Capral, Cult, Protek Cabinets
Text description provided by the architects. Modification of the terrace house in the inner suburb of Melbourne is a continuity of space exploration after family occupancy. The project aims to reflect and celebrate the previously designed ‘Studio Garage Façade’ by incorporating the polycarbonate sheeting into the roof and ceiling of the living and kitchen area, opening onto the backyard, and forming a pergola. The moments created through innovative roofing are an exciting journey to be taken on and shared by the clients. The angled polycarbonate roofing combined with an open plan of the residence’s corridor through to the backyard visually connects the indoors to the outdoors. The project’s open plan was made possible by relocating the kitchen and deleting the corridor in between the living and the backyard area where the kitchen bench joinery extending to the living area and the backyard transforms into shelves and a BBQ bench respectively, to create a fluid connection of spaces. The materiality of the joinery pays a tribute to the steel from the existing staircase designed in the 1990s and the family‐crafted timber bookshelves.
Victorian houses in inner‐city Melbourne lack habitability and quality of the environment as they aren’t well considered in terms of heating, cooling or daylighting. The design interventions drastically improve natural ventilation and daylighting. Thus, reducing overall energy consumption alongside providing a healthy environment. Further, the design concept of mirroring the polycarbonate façade onto the roof needed thorough consideration of detail as well as insulation properties. The roof’s construction detail of three ampelite easy‐click opal finish sheets sandwiched together with air gaps created by the timber battens and rafters resolves the design constraint of acoustic and thermal insulation, rendering the place comfortably habitable.
Subtle incorporation of the simplest and the most mandatory passive design strategies made building sustainable. The north‐facing living room with an acoustically and thermally well‐insulated polycarbonate roof and ceiling provides ample diffused sunlight into the space. While the indoor-outdoor connection through a sliding window also provides natural ventilation. Further, the practice believes in building a cycle footprint that plays a crucial role in a building project. Thus, bricks from the demolition of the existing house were reused in the landscaping of the backyard. Further, the existing floorboard was protected and polished for refurbishment.
The completion of the design marks the beginning of the exploration of the views, shadows, and experience generated not only in the living room underneath the roof but also in the master bedroom looking onto the living room through the translucent roofing onto the backyard that connects the main house to the garage studio. While the daytime aspect of the design looks forward to the northern sunlight entering the living area, the night‐time aspect hopes to highlight the studio garage as a lantern brightening the spacious connectivity to accommodate house parties and its surrounding neighborhood.
