Matt Gibson Architecture has clearly defined what a dream home is through the project Kooyong House. The project involves renovating a grand Victorian villa and constructed a separate but connected new addition to the modern home. The old and new concept is not an entirely new idea as other homes have already taken part in this wonderful blending.

On this project, you see things differently as the old and new were connected through a glass circulation bridge extending throughout the existing hallway. The same hallway continued as the main axis where the old and new revolves toward the side of the site. This is the main axis corridor of archways which will take you to the “journey of time” as a series of delayed thresholds and frame scenes appear into view.

This new work has been deliberately set up as the “new pavilion” but even then it has been deliberately recessive from the street which adds to the sense and cognitive interest to the new concept once you reach at the end of the main axis that leaves you little memory of the old Victorian residence.

This modern architecture far exceeds the expectations of the old and new concept as it happens to have a relaxed interior design. The warm external timber cladding allowed a sculpted and fun aesthetic as compared to the masculinity exuding from the original architecture. However, the neutral-like Palm Springs modernism emanates throughout the ground level façade which created a flexible space opening out to the exteriors of the home.

The Kooyong House sits proudly in Melbourne, Australia which is the completed implementation of the house floor plans from the original villa with double front dwelling that badly needs repair. The front design elements of the building has been retained which the clients would originally wanted to be reconstructed and replaced but upon the encouragement and expertise of the modern architects it was not done.

The project brief also desired to have an extensive upper level addition as well as the garage and pool after the previous addition has been removed. Considering the depth of the site which acted as one of the challenges in the project, the addition was to be separated instead of being attached to the new works on the rear side of the existing architecture that has the textured areas of external areas between the old and new elements.

The interiors of the house especially the spatial logic of the original architecture were flipped making it take on an inspirational layout that celebrates the nuances of both the old and new.

Posted by JackieAzuela at 29 November, 2011

Add a comment