A New Hip Roof Rejuvenates a California-Style Bungalow in Melbourne

During the renovation, local building regulations required the design team to follow sensitive heritage considerations in terms of both the composition and the materials selected. In response to these regulations, Australian studio Architecture Architecture came up with a design that would retain the house's original gable roof in the front, but include a new hip roof for the rear extension.

Front

Back

The architects began by studying the features of classic California bungalows—their ribbed gables, outlined fascias, darkened plinth, and bricked chimneystacks—and then used these elements to help guide the remodel.

A gable roof with fascia ornamentation shelters the south-facing front section of the house where the formal living spaces are located. 

From the backyard in the north section, a reclining hip roof shelters the bedroom wing. 

The new roof changed the entire atmosphere of the home. Once low and flat, the ceilings now seem more generous and varied, lifting and dipping as they provide shade and illumination in different parts of the house. 

Architecture Architecture designed the living areas to be reoriented towards the backyard and northern sun in order to introduce more natural light to the darker corners of the house. 

Strategically-positioned windows, glazing, and skylights that follow the pitched roof's angles result in an interior that boasts sharp lines that are both contemporary and geometric.

Project Credits:

- Architecture: Architecture Architecture

- Builder/general contractor: Grenville Architectural Construction

- Structural engineering: Meyer Consulting