With a desire for a more sustainable way of life, our clients came to us with a brief to develop a small early century cottage in Mt Victoria, having just sold their large house up north. Inspired by their recent secondment in Vanuatu they wanted to downsize, live with less stuff and in close to the city to reduce commute time and energy.

Wallace Architects embraced the challenge of working within the constraints of a small inner-city site. The small cottage was remodeled throughout and extended to include an additional family room and courtyard. Clever planning and maximum use of lofty ceilings and skylights means there is a generosity to the renovated house that belies its small footprint.

The site is located within the Mt Victoria Heritage Character Area, Wallace Architects considered it important that the historic features of the cottage be enhanced and extended, and the newer lean-to addition to the back of the house removed. The modern elements incorporated are complementary rather than contrasting to the beautiful historic detailing.

There are no significant views from the site and the adjacent houses are in close proximity, so a private north oriented courtyard space with a terrace garden was an important part of the overall planning. A large over-wall sliding door running into a set of bi-folds opens up the family room to this courtyard giving the space more generosity than would otherwise be achieved.

Storage space is incorporated wherever possible including a Sewing room that is closed off from the Dining Room with Bi-fold doors when not in use. The utility areas were all reconfigured to maximise the available area and Wallace Architects were able to create a spacious bathroom with separate toilet, Laundry and storage cupboard.

The house also features oversized guttering for increased rainfall, a generator in case of power outage and high-performance insulation and double glazing to increase the buildings resilience and sustainability.

© Wallace Architects Ltd

Photography by Paul McCredie.