This renovation of a double-storey Victorian terrace house in Carlton replaces an older renovation with a new two level extension. A double level light court between new and old brings in much needed light and sun and connects the dining and open plan living area to the new master bedroom suite upstairs. The living space opens out to a private walled garden with a studio workshop opening onto the laneways beyond.

Our seventh residential project in North Melbourne involved a sensitive contemporary renovation to the existing Edwardian terrace house, and the addition of new light-filled courtyard and rear wing. With the careful placement of the courtyards we have created a light-filled contemporary home from the original heritage building with much needed additional bedrooms and bathrooms as well as larger, more functional living areas for the young family, and a connection to the landscaped outdoor spaces.

Two courtyards flank a central stair link to the new wing, providing a clear and respectful separation between heritage fabric and modern additions. The new courtyards act as the ‘lungs’ of the building to allow cross ventilation,  at the same time capturing northern light and sun into both the ground and first floor levels of the extension.

Photography by Jack Lovel

This reconfiguration of, and addition to a single-storey Edwardian house creates a suite of light-filled family living spaces positioned around a central courtyard. The courtyard plan was adopted to give improved amenity including light, ventilation and outlook to ground floor spaces, thereby combatting common issues associated with terrace houses.

The provision of direct sunlight within an environmentally sustainable design was a key consideration throughout the design process. The profile of the kitchen/dining spaces’ roof rises up to the north to give excellent solar penetration. The courtyard provides a cool, sheltered environment while a roof terrace gives consistent access to sunlight.

Photography credit: Daniela Fulford

A beautiful Victorian terrace combined with an adjacent vacant lot provided us with an incredible opportunity. Substantial remodelling and repairs to this grand house and the careful addition of a respectful but contemporary wing has created a very private sanctuary for the family away from the often lively streets of Collingwood. The resulting courtyard house with its double height voids connecting levels tracks the sun and is filled with light and fresh air.

This project is for a growing family in North Fitzroy. Our brief was to add a bedroom for guests and a second living space. The clients wanted a family-friendly connection between the inside and the rear garden. A carport has been replaced with a deck so that the downstairs living space will flow seamlessly into the outdoor spaces. 

A new living space with kitchenette is inserted under the terrace, while external stairs wrap around to create a link between the upstairs living space and the garden. At the end of the garden a new garage provides off-street parking, with a guest suite above. Through these gestures, the project makes economic use of the existing fabric, adapting it for a contemporary lifestyle.

Photographs by Michael Kai

The perforated metal skin around this extension to a Victorian terrace acts as a shading and privacy screen. Its colour reflects the brick of the existing house, yet it displays a contemporary and personal pattern that is based on the star signs of the owners – a young family of four. At night these are illuminated with LED lights, allowing the “stars” to glow.

North Melbourne House 3 is a meticulous renovation of an existing double fronted Victorian house with a carefully resolved double level addition to the rear. The front four rooms have been retained and restored. The extension to the rear of the house opens up to a new wide living space which connects with the garden.

A circular brick moon gate frames the garden from the outdoor living space and modulates the northern sun. A hit and miss brick wall to the lane way serves as a solid plinth to the floating metal clad rear wing.

Photography credit: Dylan James Photography

A double-storey renovation and extension to this Victorian house will ensure that it more effectively suits the needs of a family of five today and in the future. The extension will improve private and shared zones and, importantly, provide a suitable suite of spaces for teenagers. A new dining / living / kitchen hub will be created to better accommodate family life, and this will have seamless connections to the garden/entertainment space at the rear. The additions will allow for improved airflow and light access, as well as effective and efficient cooling and heating.

We are overjoyed to be working down in beautiful Apollo Bay again. This project is currently in sketch design phase……..

The Queenscliff House sits on the edge of Swan Bay, looking over the wetlands and out to Port Phillip Bay.  The section is inverted; the living and master bedroom level sitting over the guest bedroom level with 5m cantilevers to each end providing shelter from the weather for people and boats.

The plan and form are simple; the external material monolithic and robust with cypress pine cladding that will grey with time. Highlights of colour reference the local flora and fauna. The simple brief from the client was to create a sanctuary away from busy workaday life.

A carefully planned rennovation to a narrow shop house in Carlton North. On a narrow site with little room to extend a substantial remodelling was required to capture sun and maximise space. A split level pavilion with vaulted timber celings and sun-catching high level windows to the north replaces a 1880s single level building at the rear. Sun, sky, and garden changes everything.

The original 19th century house has been substantially altered to create a series of elegant living spaces. 20th century additions have been removed to make way for a new pavillion. A key feature of this is a water-jet cut perforated bluestone screen that creates beautiful patterns of light and shade within the house.

Photography credit: Dianna Snape Photography

The Peel street house is an extension to a narrow, single fronted Victorian dwelling. The front two rooms have been retained and the rear of the house opened up to a light-filled three level extension. 

Creating a contemporary family home from this small site, whilst retaining the front part of the existing heritage house was our challenge.  KLE Construction were outstanding in their attention to detail. 

Photography credit: Jack Lovel Photography

We are very excited to see this beautiful house complete. The Errol Street project comprises a significant extension and first floor addition to an existing house in North Melbourne. Due to the high heritage grade on the streetscape, the extension was required to be largely obscured from Errol St. Additionally, as the neighbourhood is made up of very narrow parcels of land, overshadowing is a key consideration.

The steeply pitched roof form, containing the first floor Master suite, responds to both these constraints, while creating both intimate zones and generous height. The section is further developed with voids and skylights, to allow excellent solar penetration; a challenge typical of working with the inner city terrace.

A small worker’s cottage from the 1880s was renovated and extended to become a compact and flexible family home. The site is 6.5m x 18m long on one of North Melbourne’s narrow streets. The brief was to create a light filled home with a sense of generosity of space despite the challenge of the small lot size. Clever storage solutions make the best use of all available space. The monolithic ironbark island bench doubles as an entertainment unit at the lounge end of the open plan living area. The space under the staircase is filled with shelving, drawers, and a hidden storage area.

The Japanese-inspired palette included black-stained timber stairs and balustrade, wardrobes that reference shoji screens, and recycled ironbark flooring.

This double-storey addition to the top of an existing 1980s’ apartment building is designed to take advantage of 360-degree views to Port Philip Bay, Melbourne’s CBD, and Mount Dandenong Ranges.

The external design will continue the language of the original building, while providing a contemporary, dynamic cap to the thirteen-storey tower. The winged form will also provide passive shading for the internal spaces.

This small but carefully composed extension to a single level Victorian house in Carlton is currently under construction.

The house sits low into the hillside and hugs the slope. Internal spaces are divided by changes in levels rather than solid walls, so that the building does not impose on the beautiful landscape but makes the most of the extraordinary views of the bay. 

This was a careful composition of two materials: timber, the colour of the surrounding trees and stone sourced from a local quarry. It is also a combination of two very crafted types of construction: carefully laid stone and "folded" timber carpentry, where cladding turns into deep window frames.

This house involved significant alterations to an existing terrace house in Port Melbourne. Careful planning and negotiation with council has allowed us to create a functional four bedroom family home on the tight site; including large rooftop entertaining space and car stacker for two off-street spaces.

The northern façade is expressive of the internal program, with various elements used to break up the long and otherwise flat form. The third-storey perched on top adopts the language and materiality of roofs in the area; in response to planning considerations and neighbourhood character.

A major extension and significant alterations were made to this bayside property in Middle Park. 
The original house has been divided into small apartments; we opened the interior to create a spacious light-filled home while maintaining the heritage facade. We used sharp lines to define spaces while celebrating open plan living. 

Photography credit: Dianna Snape Photography

This project is a substantial refurbishment of a 19th century terrace house in North Melbourne. The spaces will be re-oriented to better serve the needs of a growing family; providing greater access to natural light and connecting to outdoor space.

BURO Architecture + Interiors in collaboration with Hecker Phelan and Guthrie Interiors undertook a major upgrade of a significant Victorian home in St Kilda.

The existing dwelling was a collection of large but disjointed spaces within a rambling Victorian structure. The house had been seriously compromised by a 1960s conversion into a series of flats.  The internal works were demolished to reveal the original principal rooms. Living zones were rationalized within the existing home to create more light and flowing spaces. Detailing within the older structure is intricate, while the new structure is unashamedly modern.

The result is a beautiful and liveable family home.

Büro in association with Hecker Phelan and Guthrie were commissioned for a major upgrade of a significant Victorian home in Kew.

The house had been divided into a series of small rooms and extended poorly in the 1980s.  A rationalisation of the spaces opened up the interior to allow for greater natural light penetration. A modern structure was created at the rear to complete this now beautiful and liveable family home. A guest house, sauna and wine store were added above the garage.