Roofscape House, North Carlton

We wanted to alter the way that the house and its surroundings were experienced; to address its narrow site in a way that avoided placing a corridor down one side and resisted the urge to push everything to the boundaries.

Project Overview
Characteristics
Specifications
Media
Testimonials

Client Brief

A narrow terrace house needed a host of new spaces to provide a young family with the room to live, work and grow. In adding a study/guest room, bedrooms and a family room we looked to avoid pushing these new spaces into their much loved garden, while drawing in the amenity of the inner suburban surroundings.

Design Response

We met the clients need for new spaces – without encroaching on their garden – by adding a clever addition to the top of the existing structure.

The new first floor was stretched along the length of the existing house, touching each boundary at its centre and narrowing at each end. In the centre of the house, the double height family room connects the ground floor to the upstairs. The rooms either side of this tall space are also used for circulation, minimising corridors.

These spaces are then bookended by bedrooms. At the street end the bedroom pushes into the existing roof space, creating a room with the proportions of an attic; an interesting bedroom for a young girl. At the other end, the clients’ bedroom gains internal height while narrowing to minimize any overshadowing or overlooking.

The new house is better connected, more adaptable, and open to views and breezes. As an object it is clearly different to the house it sits on, but one that reflects the roof-forms and colours of its surroundings.
Characteristics
Key values
- Adaptable, flexible spaces within designated zones
- Contextual aesthetic of roof forms and materials
- Natural cross and stack ventilation
- Views from all new rooms
- Careful use of project budget
Key materials
- Lysaught Klip Lok roofing and Cladding,
- Hardies Scyion Matrix Cladding
- Lapaege Rosso Siso wall tiles
- Eco-Ply Hoop Pine Flooring
- Basalt vanity by Marble Art
Specifications
Core deliverables
- Bedrooms x 2
- Study
- Laundry
- Family room
- Storage attic
- Master bedroom terrace
- Terrace
Services Provided
- Concept design
- Planning permit documentation
- Contract documentation and building permit
- Construction administration
Architect

Antarctica (with Simon Whibley as co-director)

People

Project Team: Simon Whibley, Ben Inman, Nico Kelly

Client

Vince Murphy & Helen Thomas

Date completed

2010

Location

North Carlton, Victoria
Roofscape House Media

Awards
- Finalist, Alterations and Additions Category, Victorian Architecture Awards 2011
Publications
- Forty Six Square Metres of Land Doesn’t Normally Become a House, 2011
- Houses Magazine, Issue 55
Press
- ‘Surprises All Round’ Ann Pilmer, The Age
Roofscape House Testimonials

It’s not just the result that was excellent, it was also the service. We were given a clear understanding of what to expect and when to make decisions, at each stage of the project. This was backed up with attention to detail during the construction.

Vince Murphy and Helen Thomas

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