Hasta La Ideas

A twisted angular roof oversails this extension to a suburban house in Melbourne by Australian architects March Studio (+ slideshow).

March Studio, which is best known for designing a series of stores for Aesop, was tasked with renovating an existing bungalow in Kensington and adding an extension that doubles the size of the interior.

For the existing house, the architects retained the Edwardian facade but re-planned the interior to accommodate only bedrooms and bathrooms.

The new two-storey structure extends from the rear of the house. The architects excavated part of the ground, allowing them to create a concrete basement and parking area with a timber-clad ground-floor level above.

“The new extension is not meant to be sympathetic to an older style but rather has been shaped by the clients’ brief, solar access and one of Melbourne’s best views back onto the city,” said the architects.

The angular black-zinc roof extends over a large living and dining room, and is angled up at two corners to allow light to filter in through clerestory windows.

“This simple twisting operation grabs light and views,” said the architects. “The action and drama of the twist is expressed and amplified on the ceiling below by a series of hand-plugged timber battens.”

The concrete structure on the level below contains a children’s playroom with circular glass skylights overhead, as well as a wine cellar, a laundry room and a bathroom.

A car can be parked beneath the projecting upper level, while a terrace and garden are positioned just beyond.

The building is named Mullet House, as a reference to the hairstyle that different at the back than at the front. According to the architects, a passerby has described the house as “formal up front with the party out the back”.

Here’s some text from the architects:

Mullet House

Situated in Melbourne’s inner-city suburb of Kensington, ‘The Mullet’ performs contorted gymnastics in order to facilitate an ambitious brief on a small, yet opportunistic site.

The clients, Scott Smith and Phoebe Moore, wanted to commission not only a new and comfortable home, but also sought a challenging design. Running a family business in construction, Scott and Phoebe’s own home would become an opportunity for them to showcase their own capabilities.

A Heritage overlay shaped the design for the front of the dwelling, requiring that the cottage facade and first few rooms flanking Hardiman Street be retained and renovated, (red roof and all). This is where the formality is, the face to the heritage land of Eastwood Street blends seamlessly with its cottage neighbours. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms are resolved into the pre-determined Edwardian shell, freeing up the new extension for the living areas.

The fun begins to emerge when rounding Hardiman Street. ‘I don’t like it’ – says one of the locals half way through construction. ‘It’s not in keeping with the area…’ The new extension is not meant to be sympathetic to an older style but rather been shaped by the clients’ brief, solar access and one of Melbourne’s best views back onto the city.

The balancing act that the local resident detested emerged when the brief called for off-street parking. The house would straddle the parking area, and even with the grade of Hardiman Street to advantage, excavation was unavoidable. Since a digger would be coming to site anyway, the opportunity to dig a little deeper and sink a large concrete box (along with the children in it) was far too good to refuse.

Buried within the concrete box is the rumpus room, wine cellar, laundry, and an additional bathroom. The box is capped with a concrete lid and garnished with strategically placed, trafficable glass skylights. The monolithic form anchors the new building into the side of the hill and is finished internally by the rough reality of building – and being – underground.

The concrete lid of the concrete box is not only the ceiling for below, but also the floor in both the kitchen and exterior deck. The pivot around which the other spaces are spun, the kitchen serves all parts of the house, while the dining and living areas are tucked up above the garage and closer to the night sky of Melbourne’s city lights. Timber battens clad the extension, wrapping the three spaces together and providing a linear base for the last hovering piece.

Soaring above the living spaces is the black zinc roof. On the northern edge the roof is pulled up to increase natural light to the northwest corner, and pushed down to the neighbouring building on Hardiman Street on the northeast, so as not to overshadow it. On the south side, the operation is reversed, and the southwest corner is lifted to create a framed view of the city. This simple twisting operation grabs light and views from two corners and anchors the remaining two with rain heads falling to collection tanks. The action and drama of the twist is expressed and amplified on the ceiling below by a series of hand-plugged timber battens.

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March Studio appeared first on Dezeen.

A woodland landscape scene is hidden within a pattern of coloured polka dots on the exterior of this house extension in Moers, Germany, by Düsseldorf studio MCKNHM Architects (+ slideshow).

MCKNHM Architects made three separate additions to the single-storey family home, adding a second storey on the rooftop, a sauna and guesthouse in the garden, plus a combined workshop and garage at the site’s entrance.

The architects named the project CMYK House as a reference to the colour model used to create the dotty facade of the roof extension and guesthouse.

The mixture of cyan, magenta, yellow and black dots give the walls a halftone pattern. At close range, the dots can be made out individually, while from a short distance they blend together in a camouflage pattern and further away they form an image of a deer in a forest.

“The colour scheme of the pixilated image is intentionally reflected by the landscaping, consisting of wildflower meadows,” said the architects. “From a middle distance, the human eye interpolates the colours and a shaded and textured surface of brown and green seems to appear, leading to a camouflage effect.”

The architects chose to conceal an image of a deer within the facade, as a reference to hunting trophies that were once displayed inside the house.

“The father of the client was a hunter and the house was filled with stuffed animals at the time the son took it over,” explained the architects.

The original house was built without any views of the nearby lake, so the combined sauna and guesthouse was positioned to face onto the water and opens out to a generous terrace.

The rooftop extension accommodates a small office and lounge, also with views of the lake.

A timber-clad garage and workshop was the final addition.

Other residential extensions we’ve featured include a timber structure that curves around a tree, a concrete structure that could also function as a standalone residence and a house extension with a walk-on glass roof.

See more residential extensions »
See more German architecture and design »

Photography is by Julien Lanoo.

Here’s a project description from the architects:

CMYK House

When the father of the client bought the plot of land besides an open gravel pit south of Moers, Germany in the late fifties, it was still unclear if the mine would be converted into a landfill of garbage or a lake. Luckily, the family ended up with a villa at an idyllic lake that is surrounded by a forest.

Because of the possible landfill at the time of construction, the house was orientated away from this now beautiful nature reserve: An existing garage was blocking the view towards the lake. The extensive paved driveway was situated between the house and the fantastic nature setting. Inside the house, none of the spaces provides a view of the lake.

Context

The new addition is set to solve these problems. The approach towards the site places three pavilions onto the park-like property. They are positioned in a way to achieve new spatial qualities in-between the old building and new additions, helping to connect the lake with the existing house.

At the same time the old house with its white plaster façade and its black double pitched roof, that evoked a sense of melancholy and displays a certain stuffiness in its German fifties zeitgeist needed a more fresh addition. Therefore, the extension is also supposed to add a friendlier and playful atmosphere.

Three pavilions

The workshop and garage is moved and situated as an autonomous pavilion towards the entrance of the site. A second pavilion accommodates a sauna and guesthouse, which is assigned to the existing house and directly orientated to the lake through an open terrace. A third pavilion is situated on top of the roof of the old house, extending the existing attic into a workspace and lounge with a beautiful lake-view.

Façade

All new additions are clad with a special façade, made up from a building textile that features a colourful but also camouflaging print that was developed through a very close and intensive design process with the client. The print fulfils a number of tasks: It is an image that is very roughly pixilated by a halftone pattern, which is exaggerated in a way, that by close distance the façade only displays big dots in the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Kay colour realm.

These dots create a pattern, which is also a reminiscent to the petticoats of the fifties, adding a playful colour palette and graphic to the existing situation. The colour scheme of the pixilated image is intentionally reflected by the landscaping, consisting of wild flower meadows.

From a middle distance, the human eye interpolates the colours a shaded and textured surface of brown and green seems to appear, leading to a camouflage effect. The additions seem to blend within the colour palette of the site.

Only from far distance at the lake, the image will appear: A forest landscape with a deer, a classic and conservative German motive giving an ironic touch to the existing building and a reference to its history, as the father of the client was a hunter and the house was filled with stuffed animals at the time the son took it over.

Interiors

The interior spaces are highly flexible the pavilions feature a ‘multi-wall’ that is designed as a ‘hollow’ 1,20m thick wall or woodblock, which functions as a storage that is accessible from both inside and outside. The sauna-pavilion has a ‘multi-cube’ that houses the actual sauna and also a space for technical equipment, a wardrobe and bathroom fixtures on the outside. Through these interventions, the space becomes highly flexible and also open, the space is one continuum, there are no doors separating the bathroom from the Sauna.

Camouflage / Blending In

The concept of the building is creating a new experience on the site and adding something very playful and friendly. At the same time the building is blending into its natural environment. In this sense the addition mediates the genius loci of the existing building and the natural environment the architecture is not an alien anymore it becomes more natural.

Some measures were taken to not only blend the house visually into its context but also to provide a tactile sense of dematerialisation that is reflected in the actual construction. All building details aim to hide the physical thickness of the construction and create a very light to paper thin appearance quality. The parapet flashing is set behind the façade, visible doors and windows are encased in a metal siding which peaks to a millimetre thick tip that hides the real wall thickness, the textile façade is wrapped around the corners and has a very minimal aluminium frame.

Team: Mark Mueckenheim, Frank Zeising, Jasmin Bonn
Landscape Architecture: Sebastian Riesop

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MCKNHM Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Ghent studio Open Y Office has extended a house in Belgium, adding a concrete structure that could also function as a standalone residence (+ slideshow).

Located in the town of Herent, the extension was designed by Open Y Office with stark concrete walls that contrast against the white-painted brick exterior of the old house, which is a converted post office.

“The inhabitants wanted an extension that was flexible enough to be transformed in time to a separate unit with its own bed and bathroom,” said the architects.

The volume of the building appears as two rectangular boxes stacked on top of one another, with the upper storey slightly overlapping the ground floor below.

An open-plan living area occupies the first floor and overlooks a garden with a new swimming pool.

A glass passageway leads through to the existing house, plus large timber-framed windows open the room out to a long and narrow balcony.

The ground floor below contains storage areas and a garage with timber panelled doors.

Concrete steps with a steel balustrade lead into the house via an entrance on the first floor.

Other residential extensions we’ve recently featured include a London home with a walk-on glass roof and an extension in Dublin covered with terracotta tiles that look like bricks.

See more residential extensions »
See more architecture and design in Belgium »

Photography is by Tom Janssens.

Here’s a short description from the architects:

House Wiva

This OYO story takes you to Herent, where the extension of a private residence captures its surroundings.

The inhabitants wanted an extension that was flexible enough to be transformed in time to a separate unit with its own bed and bathroom.

OYO emphasised the contrast between the new shape and the old volume, which used to be an post office. You can see the concrete floating above the garden.

From the point of view of the residents, the extension creates exciting views from the new living room. The two volumes are connected with a light wooden footbridge that functions as entrance but also clarifies the different volumes.

Architects: OYO – Open Y Office
Location: Herent, Belgium
Type: Single family house extension
Area: House extension 110 m2
Year: 2010

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Open Y Office appeared first on Dezeen.

Architecture and interior design studio Project Orange have renovated and extended a home in central London to provide more practical spaces for a family that hosts a monthly dining club (+ slideshow).

East London-based practice Project Orange moved the principle kitchen to the first floor so it is next to the dining room where the family entertain their guests.

The new dining room features tables that can be arranged to accommodate different numbers of guests and built-in shelves at one end continue above the door on the perpendicular wall.

Utilitarian, off-the-shelf products are used to furnish the kitchen, resulting in a practical space that is customised to the needs and tastes of the homeowners.

The architects also designed an infill extension at the rear of the property that houses a smaller kitchen with a large skylight.

Floorboards removed when new underfloor heating was laid have been reused on the walls and work surfaces in the downstairs kitchen.

Partitions were introduced on the ground floor to create a small office and a snug, while the basement has been repurposed as living quarters for the family’s son and bedrooms, a master bathroom and another study are located on the second floor.

Project Orange have also extended a redundant brick warehouse in Sheffield, England, by placing a contrasting black steel volume on top of building.

Recent residential extensions on Dezeen include an addition to a single-storey house in Melbourne, Australia, with a translucent roof that looks like a lightbox, and an extension in Dublin, Ireland, covered in terracotta tiles that resemble brickwork – see more residential extensions.

Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.

Here’s a project description from the architects:

Eaton Square house renovation

The client for Eaton Terrace runs a monthly dining club from their home in central London, and our brief was therefore not only to design a small extension providing more living space for the family, but to also reconfigure the existing house to better accommodate guests.

The key move was to shift the kitchen to the first floor alongside the dining room and reintroduce partitions at ground floor level to create an office and snug.

To the rear of the house we designed an infill extension with a huge rooflight to form a new day room. Bedrooms, the master bathroom and a second study are found on the second floor, with the basement re-designated as the son’s quarters.

An original extension off the main stair contains a guest WC and second bathroom at half landings.

Both the kitchen and built-in furnishings have been carefully designed using standard products but with detail nuances introduced to help provide a bespoke and more quirky aesthetic.

A new underfloor heating installation requires the removal of the existing floorboards, which in turn are inventively re-used in the ground floor kitchen and a bespoke door lining to the dining room.

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Project Orange appeared first on Dezeen.

Small windows scattered across the facade of this house extension outside Melbourne by Australian practice Wolveridge Architects limit the amount of direct sunlight entering the building (+ slideshow).

Wolveridge Architects designed the extension to provide additional bedrooms for the owners’ three young sons, who are now housed above a large garage.

The architects say that the composition of openings in the facade “is designed to restrict the inflow of undesirable west sun and provides a suitable level of visual engagement with the street.”

Anodised aluminium window frames contrast with the dark stained western red cedar cladding that covers the new addition and maintains the house’s existing material palette.

Inside the bedrooms, the windows are integrated into a geometric arrangement of cabinetry that creates storage and seating.

The extension also incorporates a new living area that is separated from the bedrooms by a large shaded terrace with views of the nearby forest.

Yesterday we published a beach house by Wolveridge Architects with louvred shutters concealing its windows and architect Clare Cousins recently extended a family home in Australia by adding a stilted timber-framed guest house. See more houses in Australia »

Photography is by Ben Hosking.

Here’s a project description from the architects:

Blairgowrie House

This extension to an existing two storey dwelling provides essential additional living areas for a family with three young boys. The original structure made very little connection with the surrounding property and had deficiencies in access to northern light.

By bringing the façade dramatically forward towards the street it was possible to incorporate the three required bedrooms above a large garage on street level.

To separate the bedrooms from the new living area a north facing courtyard was introduced which also provides a terrific outlook towards the surrounding Moonah forest.

The block type form established from bringing the front of the dwelling forward and its western orientation influenced a design decision to create a complex series of openings in the façade, allowing for plenty of natural light to the children’s bedrooms within.

The composition of openings is designed to restrict the inflow of undesirable west sun and provides a suitable level of visual engagement with the street.

The cabinetry design integrates with the complex window arrangement on the outside, creating a playful sense within each bedroom.

The existing palette of dark stained western red cedar cladding and anodised aluminium window frames was carried through in the new work, integrating the original structure within the proposed design, but still providing a sense of separation.

Project name: Blairgowrie House
Date of construction completion: 25/08/12
Project team: Jerry Wolveridge, Sina Petzold, Ricky Booth, David Anthony
Builder and Construction Manager: Tim Prebble
Structural/Civil Engineer: Don Moore & Associates
Building Surveyor: Nepean Building Permits

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Wolveridge Architects appeared first on Dezeen.