Image Credit : Lisbeth Grosmann
Project Overview
This project demonstrates that compact inner-city living and functional family homes need not be mutually exclusive. The clients’ small space and modest budget have been maximised by efficient spatial planning and a creative composition of commonly available materials.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Clare Cousins, Jessie Fowler, Dita Beluli
Project Brief
Located in a heritage-listed building in Melbourne’s CBD, this project reimagines a 75m2 apartment for a young family. The clients, who were expecting their first child, aimed to convert the existing one bedroom space into two separate sleeping spaces suited to the needs of a young family.
Traditional Japanese houses inspired the two new ‘micro’ bedrooms. The size of the first, just 2m wide, was determined by the length of a single bed; the second, a raised platform to support the mattress-only bed, is cocooned by plywood. Sliding screens permit the room to be visually open providing additional seating to the living space, and like the Japanese inspiration, it can be transformed to a private zone by sliding the screens closed.
A nod to Shigeru Ban’s Furniture House, the full-height joinery separates the micro rooms from the living space and is accessible from both sides, providing flexibility in how the storage is used. A mezzanine loft provides a sleeping platform for guests, and access to additional storage. A compact work station is integrated in the nook below. The bathroom is fitted with creatively composed, inexpensive tiles and gold electroplated tapware in this otherwise understated inner-city family dwelling.
Project Innovation/Need
With a footprint of just 25m2 per person, the design minimises the sleeping areas of the small apartment and maximise the living and social spaces to be enjoyed by the occupants. The new floor plan makes the most of generous ceiling heights and precisely locates each of the joinery walls to take advantage of the original windows on three of the four perimeter walls. The resulting light filled living rooms provide amenity commonly found in much larger houses. The reduced palette of materials used throughout the project not only enhances the perception of space, but also provides dual cost-benefits; plywood is affordable and readily available and much the joinery was designed to be constructed by a carpenter, further minimising construction costs.
The clients’ decision to remain in a small space allowed their modest budget to be maximised by efficient spatial planning and a creative composition of commonly available materials. The benefits of small scale living become apparent in numerous ways; mechanical heating and cooling of the family home is reduced to little more than a single room, while proximity to public transport makes the family’s decision to live without a car possible.
Design Challenge
This family made a conscious decision to expand the program of an existing space rather than expand the space required to suit their growing family. Proximity to public transport also makes the family’s decision to live without a car possible. High-density living achieves numerous social, environmental and economic benefits while Melbourne’s numerous nearby city parks, gardens and other public spaces have replaced their need for a traditional suburban backyard.
In our increasingly consumer culture, there’s something serene and comforting about a lack of excessive ‘stuff’. Carefully considered storage provides space for each family member’s essentials, yet limits consumption and places greater value on the objects that they have chosen to live with.
Sustainability
This project demonstrates that high density inner-city living and modern, functional family homes need not be mutually exclusive. The benefits of small scale living become apparent in numerous ways; mechanical heating and cooling of the family home is reduced to little more than a single room, while proximity to public transport makes the family’s decision to live without a car possible.
The clients’ small space and modest budget have been maximised by efficient spatial planning and the creative composition of commonly available materials. The new floor plan makes the most of generous ceiling heights and precisely locates each of the joinery walls to take advantage of the original windows on three of the four perimeter walls. The resulting light filled living rooms provide amenity commonly found in much larger homes.
The gradual densification of program within this single apartment over time reflects the current necessity for high-density living within our existing built environment. The sensitive adaptation of existing heritage spaces to suit the requirements of their users is fundamental to the sustainable development of our inner city.
Architecture - Residential - Constructed
This award celebrates the design process and product of planning, designing and constructing form, space and ambience that reflect functional, technical, social, and aesthetic considerations. Consideration given for material selection, technology, light and shadow.
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