Mary Residence

Hawthorn

This project necessitated the retention and restoration of an existing stucco and brick faced Edwardian cottage facing the main street and to this, we utilised the oddly cranked parcel of land which extended to a second street frontage to the rear, for a new two storey extension of the house, plus basement garaging and recreation spaces.

The existing portion of the house was painstakingly disassembled piece by piece and faithfully re-established to its original condition. We used the ‘dog-leg’ section of the site as a green spaced ‘knuckle’ to punctuate the junction of the existing building to the new contemporary addition. Here a polished concrete hallway and faceted glass facade arcs around the new green space. It is at this point an open treaded stair radiates up to the first floor, flanked by a dry stacked, natural stone dividing wall. The stair leads to the kid’s domain, bedrooms, retreat spaces and bathrooms.

The scalloped ‘knuckle’ space is encircled by a raised screen of vertical recycled timber blades, these tempering the sunlight entering the new living spaces beyond.

The new wing is clearly modern and contemporary in feel yet with the transition space between them, each portion rests comfortably side by side.

A disc like roof form raised aloft the existing terra cotta pitched roof, only suggestively visible from the street, yet a signal nonetheless that there is something quite different going on behind the modest cottage facing the street.

The project was awarded Boroondara Council’s 2016 Residential Buildings Heritage Award.