“This renovation and extension focused on bringing two families together,” says Mitsuori Architects cofounder Matthew Murfutt about his studio’s latest project. “Our client wanted this to be a place that represented a new start, and fostered a sense of identity and belonging.”

The clients’ existing home, a modest freestanding Victorian-era terrace located in the Melbourne inner suburb of Northcote, sits amongst an eclectic mix of heritage homes. “Our clients’ key aim was to extend the house to accommodate a large family, but at the same time they wanted to minimize the impact of new building elements on the wonderful sense of openness in their back garden and the surrounding properties,” says Murfutt.

With this in mind, Murfutt sought to avoid the visual bulk associated with adding a typical two-story extension at the rear of the existing building. “This approach led us to go down instead of up, resulting in the creation of interesting spaces that better responded to the needs and aspirations of the occupants,” he says.

Suffice it to say, this decision generated numerous construction challenges. The clients, one of whom is a commercial builder, were not deterred, and they requested that Mitsuori explore all manner of construction methods to achieve their goals.

“Because we wanted to exaggerate the experience of descending the stair, it was designed to cut through the existing foundations, revealing a section of the wall above and below the ground—and this presented definite buildability challenges," explains Murfutt. “These were ultimately overcome with structural engineering and construction methodology not typically used in small residential alterations.”

The other fundamental challenge was to create thoughtful transitions between the heritage and contemporary areas of the house. “It was important to us that the new addition reflected the functional and spatial qualities valued by the family, but also celebrated the transition between old and new,” explains Murfutt. “The result is a light-filled pavilion that bridges the existing heritage home and garden with more private subterranean bedrooms areas below.”

The glass roof accentuates this transition by revealing the raw existing building fabric both above and below ground level. “The junction between old and new is treated as an unequivocal transition point in the building, and the two appear not to touch,” Murfutt adds.

From a planning perspective, the house is neatly divided into public and private with the main kitchen and dining space forming the communal heart of the home on the upper level. Positioning the bedrooms downstairs provided the architects with more freedom to manipulate the roof above the living areas, within the bounds of the relatively tight urban site.

“We could freely sculpt the building envelope to create the angular ceiling form, and bring in an abundance of natural light to provide necessary sun shading without the need for active shading devices,” says Murfutt. In contrast, a separate lounge, designed as a cozy, conversational space is tucked into the existing heritage house, separated from the noise of the main living zone.

The lower level holds a suite of private spaces positioned and designed to respond to different needs. The children’s rooms are located in two separate zones designed to respond to their ages—playful mezzanine bedrooms in one zone, and secluded garden rooms at the other.

"The program was developed closely with our client to create spaces that would help bring the family together, and that could be flexibly inhabited in different ways," says Murfutt. The considerable exposed thermal mass, and the subterranean nature of the lower-level rooms also enables passive thermal regulation of the spaces.

A simple, natural material palette of concrete, steel, glass, and plywood accentuates the striking architecture while adding warmth and a tactile quality to the interiors. “The configuration of spaces, relationship of rooms to one another, and the intangible qualities of spaces became our primary focus,” concludes Murfutt.

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Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Mitsuori Architects / @mitsuoriarchitects

Builder: Homeowner

Structural Engineer: Structural Edge

Civil Engineer: Structural Edge

Landscape Design: Andrew Plant Landscape Architects

Interior Design: Mitsuori Architects

Photographer: Michael Kai Photography / @michaelkaiphoto