This extension to an existing Victorian home in Port Melbourne was primarily driven by the client’s desire for light filled living & working spaces connected to the outdoors, whilst also accommodating an elderly family member to comfortably age in place. Programme and form are divided into three volumes, delineated by carefully inserted external courtyards. The first volume is given to autonomous aging in place, the second to the primary living zones, and the third to a laneway accessed garage and loft studio. In the spirit of ‘Enfilade’, visual continuity throughout and between these volumes became the basis for resolving the client’s complex programmatic requirements while enhancing a sense of connectivity within the constraints of the narrow east-west oriented plot. Where space could not be afforded at the horizontal plane, axis and verticality are expressed through perforations in volumes connecting internal and external environments, extending programme, harnessing and diffusing northern light throughout. Form and material are expressed in light tones with softened edges minimising visual impact, mediating solar gain. Sympathetic to its context, speaking softly, yet proudly.
