Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, is sprinkled with Edwardian houses which reflect a more modest type of structure following the elaborate Victorian architecture of the 19th century. The Edwardian houses make for satisfying streetscapes — and those streetscapes are kept via back and discreet additions.
Architect Anthony Chan approached a growth of one Edwardian house in the inner-city suburb by selecting on formal and materials consistencies of the style, but locating a contemporary expression for them. He had to deal with a number of site limitations, but the resulting addition works remarkably well with the present home and creates an open, airy and airy interior for the household.
at a Glance
Who lives here: A youthful, energetic family
Location: Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne
Size: 1,925 square feet, such as the existing home
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
When Chan and his staff at Chan Architecture took on the commission, the family room and dining room was a lean-to added on the rear of their brick home. They wanted a fresh dwelling, kitchen and dining area that could eventually become, in Chan’s words, “the nucleus of the house,” so that it was clear what needed to be carried out.
But a diagonal easement clipping across the back yard intended the new addition had to be formed to make the most square footage. Chan responded with curves which soften the diagonals that happen in floor plan (the dwelling area along with its own recycled brick walls around the left) and in roofline (the top-floor master bedroom on the right); he also found inspiration in the bullnose profiles of those roofs which cap the verandas on suburban houses.
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
The curbside view of the home facing east shows the nature of the Edwardian original along with the invisibility of the addition, but it also shows the crowded states — the home abuts another home on the right (north) side. To the south is a right of way that enables the household to park their vehicle in the little yard shown in the previous picture.
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
Another driving consideration for the addition was the large Red Box gum tree in the backyard. The angle of the living room along with the narrow windows of the bedroom and kitchen over look out on this impressive tree on the west. The mutlihued green panels also were motivated by the tree.
Here we are seeing it from a nearby land, where a few playful and vibrant cladding is also occurring.
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
The L-shaped addition on the ground floor is open but broken down into smaller areas: the clean and contemporary kitchen on the left, overlooking the dining area at the corner of the L, and the living room beyond, looking at an angle to the gum tree.
Chan carefully placed windows and skylights to make as much light as you possibly can. Valuable northern light comes in through a mild court cut into the plan (at right, beside the table) and through a clerestory and skylight that run the full east-west length of the addition (observable over the mild court and over the sofa).
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
Here we see the light court, looking from the living room to the dining area and kitchen ; through the opening will be the first residence. A couple of details are worth pointing out in regard to the mild court: tall clerestory windows help to bring in much more light to the open appearance, sliding doors provide access to this tiny outdoor space, plus a partial-height fence offers privacy from the neighboring home and its mild court.
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
Within the present home, Chan opened up the stair and creatively designed around it to perform triple duty: vertical access, storage and study. Whether this space appears especially bright, it is because it is gaining natural light from three sources: a north-facing window on the top floor of the stair, a window on the third side of the mild court (just out of frame to the right) plus a mild tube observable in the upper-left corner of the photo.
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
The main reason behind the mild tube ought to be clear here, as a study has been inserted beside the stair. This may seem an unlikely spot for anything, but using a little existing construction and site limitations dictating a much of the addition’s design, this alternative distinctively takes advantage of what I could see might otherwise have become a big walk-in closet.
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
Above the kitchen is the master suite, which is made up of bedroom, a bath plus a walk-in closet that leads to a deck over the living area; the final can be seen in the wood-slat railing at the first photo. The curved profile of the roofing, also observed in the first photo, gives the bedroom a few special character and the capacity to grab some ambient lighting (behind us in the photo) through clerestory windows over the restroom and walk in closet.
Chan Architecture Pty Ltd
From the deck, our final view of the home, we view that curved profile along with the clerestory windows around the corner. Easy and utilitarian contemporary stuff cover this upper level, leaving the particular splash of color for the wall facing the backyard and the colour of the gum tree.