In the quiet Fitzroy North suburb of Melbourne, Australia, the renovation and extension of an Edwardian house was undertaken by Architects and Interior Designers, McBride Charles Ryan. The original design submitted to the clients, a young professional couple with two children, was deemed by them as being too conventional and unimaginative, this gave the architects the green light to go ahead and design something that would set the house apart from all others in the area.
The three part project consists of the redesign of the pre-existing house, the street facade of which has been retained as a sign of respect for the heritage of the area. On entering the seemingly ‘ordinary’ house, the first sign of design intervention is the bright floral shapes on the black carpet and a peek at the vivid red box which links the old with the new. The box is in fact the wonderful kitchen space, which leads into the newly created living dining area.
From the rear of the house, we can observe the shape of a giant metal lined cloud which forms the extension. The ceiling, walls and floors are all of wooden planks, linked seamlessly to create a series of barrel like shapes. Through a glass rear facade is the deck and lap pool in the yard.
The south facing addition captures the last glint of daylight in a space to be enjoyed by the whole family and their fortunate guests.
