Phases.
An inner-city addition to mediate current and future life phases, through intergenerational living.
The original house lacked contemporary amenity expectations and was captive to numerous site constraints common to inner-city Melbourne. Additionally, the owners wished to transform their home to one that allows them to age in place. An Architecturally tailored prefab addition was the most common-sense way forward.
The double storey addition follows a light palette constructed with low maintenance materials, which sits balanced within the urban context. The building form was carefully tuned to maximise the development opportunity within tight site constraints, while preserving a quality outdoor area. A carefully crafted shading strategy balances solar access and privacy: optics and aperture.
The addition provides a new common living area at the ground level, with additional rooms upstairs that could be flexibly used by way of sliding screens around the stairway, controlling levels of privacy:
• Phase 1: Master suite + retreat
• Phase 2: Rooms for a guest
• Phase 3: Rooms for children
It was primarily constructed via a volumetric approach, with prefabricated modules craned over the existing house to their snug resting place. Panelised elements were used to complete accessory components.
Project value: $600,000 including GST, design, consultant and authority fees, factory and site based construction. Hybrid - Modular & Panelised building system.
