Mary Street Home, St Kilda, Australia – Matt Gibson Architects
Combining architectural treatments and styles to great effect, Matt Gibson Architects have firmly bought this Victorian era home in St Kilda, Australia into the 21st century. With a strong focus on melding the old and the new, along with a healthy consideration for providing plenty of natural light into the property they have created a large family home with as much new age style as Victorian class.
This renovation of a Boom Style Victorian 2–story terrace within a heritage overlay celebrates both old and new whilst marrying the periods within an integrated whole. Rather than ‘two pavilions’ this home is instead orchestrated in combination through a continuity of material and colour. The rear is intended as a contemporary interpretation of the front. Whilst retaining a strongly designated functional layout the journey from front to rear involves a progressive spatial ‘editing out’ with selective removal of walls and a break down of the Victorian containment. A central light court becomes a pivotal textural feature in the centre of the home. Full height glazing at centre & rear enable a breezeway and temperature regulator. Allocations of surface, threshold and junction are rigorously explored at the junction of old & new – the existing dwelling retains its high Victorian grandeur, the lower volume contains a more relaxed, contemporary & comfort driven approach.
