Fitzroy North Laneway House
Our Fitzroy North Laneway House is a contemporary addition to a contributory Californian bungalow on a prime corner laneway in a tightly held enclave of the City of Yarra.
Taking its cues from the cascade of gables of the existing bungalow, the new extension envelopes the urban edge of the site in folding zinc roof & wall, providing a robust but dynamic material edge to the laneway and adjacent town houses. Hugging the boundary along the laneway affords greater width within the site to create a private enclave internally for a pool courtyard & gardens, enabling the house to turn its back on neighbouring apartments and create a dramatic light filled focal point around the north facing pool.
Internally the transition from existing cottage to extension is legible through subtle level changes and traditional features that have been retained & layered with new insertions of cabinetry. Our incredible clients enjoy colour & textural richness, evident in the simple but bold kitchen space, warmth of the timber contrasted to soft milky tones of the stone. Elegant custom steel pivot doors seamlessly connect the living space to the garden.
Natural light is a feature throughout, with a central north facing pool court, a focus around which the house wraps. At the heart of the living space an extruded “lantern” provides height to the south where high-level mirrors are employed to bounce light around the space year-round & extend the feeling of space.
A basement space creates a contrast to the upper floors, making way for a play space, rumpus and wine cellar. A custom super mural provides the backdrop to movies & games, all lit in the moody blue light from the pool window.
Externally, private open space continues this dance of privacy and daylight, extending multi-functional living spaces and wrapping a landscaped, green perimeter around the building.
A material play between form, fabric & double height volumes create an elegant sculptural home.
The extremely liveable interiors of this “bungalow’ is bathed in natural light year-round and benefits from abundant cross ventilation creating a, inner-city retreat in inner city Melbourne.
Project details
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Photography
Engineering
Construction Team
Materials
Material Concept
The North Fitzroy House is set on the corner of an urban Victorian laneway. An extension to a traditional Californian Bungalow the materiality of the house was driven by a desire to create a bold urban edge quality to the laneway that folds around the public exterior to the west, peeling away to glass facades and openings within the private courtyard edges to the east.
Continuing the Materiality inside
The days we have to go to the warehouses and hand select the stone for a project are always a favourite! Our North Fitzroy House required us to choose 9 spectacular slabs of Elba Stone. Elba is typically a soft milky tone but we were specifically looking for the more dramatic pieces for particular feature areas of the house
Material crafting
Working with our excellent joiner and stonemason we sketched how we wanted particular veins or patterns in the stone slabs to wrap around feature areas like this corner of the kitchen island bench which presents itself to you as you enter the space.
