Kooyongkoot House

• A new contemporary family home in Melbourne’s inner east. Located in an established streetscape, the design of the house sought to establish a connection with the mature garden landscape character of the area.

  The rich material pallet responds to this; handmade bricks; slate stone; and timber will only get better with age. They help imbue, what is otherwise a sizable house, into the surrounding streetscape.

  The site has an east to west orientation, to maximise solar gain, a simple 2 storey rectangular volume sited hard against the southern boundary was designed. Living areas on the ground floor and bedrooms on the upper floor are placed along the north side, while services zones are placed along the south. The only disruption of form being a modest entrance added to the front – in the form of a razor thin blade floating off the side of the building.

  A double height void inserted mid-way down, bisects the house into the more formal spaces at the front and the more informal living spaces at the rear. The light-well celebrates the transitional zone, flooding the space with natural light. Bedrooms are located on the upper floor, the main bedroom at the front has lovely tree canopy views, controlled via adjustable external blinds.

  Inside, interiors are purposely restrained, light greys and blue greens are paired with American oak joinery. Soft sheer curtains filter light into the house, providing diffuse sunlight throughout the day. Furnishings by POMP are relaxed and robust complimenting the architecture.

  A lap pool is placed within the northern setback, running the length of the house. The pool acts as a backdrop to the interior spaces, the entirety first viewed when you enter the house, and subsequently featured in the outlook to the study, dining and living room.

  A landscape scheme by Eckersley Garden Architecture responds to the architecture and the surround garden landscape character. Green backdrops are planted around the site boundaries to obscure the surrounding buildings and pick up internal sight lines.

  Staff

  David Neil, Kym Verner

  Builder

  TCM Building Group

  Consultants

  Eckersly's Garden Architecture, POMP (Soft Furnishings), Struct Plan

  Photographer

  Hilary Bradford

  Year

  2017