Port Melbourne House

Located in the bayside suburb of Port Melbourne and within the confines of a long narrow site with strict heritage and planning controls, the aim of this project was to create a family home with an abundant sense of space and light.

The front section of the existing century-old terrace house was carefully restored, and the new addition sited to be invisible from the street. A dramatic double height space and an adjacent courtyard garden separate the old and new sections of house and provide a clear delineation between the two. External materials of black zinc and textured concrete render are used internally here to reinforce the sense of exiting one space and transitioning into another.

The courtyard garden and a large-scale skylight are used to separate and articulate the new single and double storey volumes and provide gaps in the built form which allowing natural light to penetrate into the deep plan. The pitched roof forms of the new addition respond to the traditional rooflines of the adjacent terrace houses but present a contrast with their black zinc cladding and clean detailing.

A restrained palette of materials continues internally where a simple, hardwearing palette of concrete and black zinc provide a robust backdrop for the finely detailed American oak cabinetry. The new house embraces the relationship between the old and new to create a timeless family home with a spatial drama not typically associated with inner city terrace sites.