House in North Melbourne
The North Melbourne House was a fun yet small project that involved adding extra space to a house and converting a detached stable. The addition was subtle and involved adding two corrugated iron 'pods' that would then facilitate the additional spatial requirements of the brief.
The laneways of North Melbourne influenced the materiality of this modest extension. Enveloped within a largely industrial surrounding, the addition to the house consists of extra living space and the conversion of an old stable on a rear laneway. We set about creating an addition to the existing house from the surrounding context of rusted corrugated iron and brickwork. We worked with galvanised metal to achieve something new within the context of the old. Galvanised corrugated iron and steel beams were used to frame the new spaces and reflect the surrounding context: brick, metal and timber.
A corrugated iron pod was added to the house, and across the front of it, it connects a large steel beam that functions as a gutter, reinforcing the industrial aesthetic. Matching this is the use of recycled brickwork woven into the built form, where bricks were intentionally left painted or slightly unclean, to assist in the language of the laneway that informs the house.
The conversion of the stable at the rear of the property is more subtle. The second corrugated iron pod projects slightly through the roof of the stable building. It is harder to see but is a further connection of the first corrugated iron pod to the main building. Inside the stable, the pod is suspended structurally to maintain a mezzanine space within the lower level where cars are kept.
