JAZZ UP RESIDENCE

VICTORIAN COTTAGE

LOCATION // BRUNSWICK // VICTORIA // AUSTRALIA

DESIGN TEAM // SANTOSO BUDIMAN // GREG ROYCE // KHALIESA SOFFIEE

INTERIOR DESIGN // SANTOSO BUDIMAN

PHOTOGRAPHY // SARAH ANDERSON

CREATIVE DIRECTOR // SANTOSO BUDIMAN

PROJECT SCOPE

BUILDING EXTENSION AND INTERIOR RENOVATION TO AN EARLY 1900’S SINGLE STOREY VICTORIAN COTTAGE

AWARDS

• 2019 SPECIAL MENTION AWARD AT GERMAN DESIGN AWARD

• 2018 SHORT LISTED FOR MELBOURNE DESIGN AWARDS

• 2019 NOMINEE FOR GERMAN DESIGN AWARD

DESIGN TEAM: SANTOSO BUDIMAN, KHALIESA SOFFIEE AND GREG ROYCE

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

THESE ORIGINAL SINGLE FRONTED VICTORIAN TERRACES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BRUNSWICK WHILE DIFFERENT IN STYLE, ARE OTHERWISE SIMILAR IN THEIR SCALE, MATERIALS, AND SETBACK. THIS STREET, COMPRISES AN ATTACHED ROW OF FIVE VICTORIAN BRICK SINGLE STOREY HOUSES.

THE ORIGINAL FRONT PART OF OUR CLIENT’S HOUSE CONSISTS OF A CORRIDOR ON THE NORTHERN SIDE WITH ACCESS TO THE TWO BEDROOMS ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE. THE REAR PART HOUSES THE LIVING AND DINING ROOM AND WAS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN AN EXTENSION ADDED AT A LATER STAGE.

THEN THE KITCHEN AND BATHROOM UNDER THE SKILLION ROOF INCLUDING THE REAR DETACHED METAL CLADDED GARAGE WERE ADDED AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME. THE ORIGINAL LAYOUT OF THE MAIN DWELLING DID NOT INCLUDE ANY INTERNAL WC AND LAUNDRY WHEN IT WAS ORIGINALLY BUILT AS THE EXISTING ORIGINAL OUTBUILDING WC AND LAUNDRY ARE STILL STANDING PROUD TODAY.

THE EXISTING KITCHEN WAS EXCEPTIONALLY NARROW WITH A RAKED CEILING TOWARDS THE REAR WALL WHICH WAS FACING TO THE REAR COURTYARD. THE EXISTING SPLASHBACK WAS LINED WITH PINE WOODEN PANELLING LAID DIAGONALLY ABOVE THE LAMINATED NARROW “U” SHAPED KITCHEN BENCH TOP.

THERE WASN’T ANY INDOOR-OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE. THE OPENED WALKWAY ALONG THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY WAS THE LINK TO CONNECT THE FRONT TO REAR PART OF THE PROPERTY.

THE BRIEF TO US WAS TO RENOVATE AND RESTORE THE EXISTING MAIN BUILDING INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL OUTBUILDING LAUNDRY AND WC AS WELL AS EXTENDING THE FOOTPRINT OF THE NON-ORIGINAL REAR PART.ALSO TO ENLARGE THE KITCHEN AREA AND MAKE IT MORE FUNCTIONAL AND CREATE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF STORAGE.

THERE WERE SOME CHALLENGES IN THE CONSTRUCTION STAGE FOR THE BUILDER AS THEY HAD TO LOOK AFTER AND NOT DAMAGE THE ADJACENT NEIGHBOUR’S EXTERNAL WEATHERBOARD CLADDING, WHICH HAD DETERIORATED AFTER A WHILE AS IT WAS LACKING ANY PROPER FOOTINGS. THE NEIGHBOUR’S EXTERNAL WALL HAD TO BE PROPPED SECURELY WHILE THE TRENCH FOR THE NEW FOOTING OF THE EXTENSION WAS BEING DUG.

JOINERY ITEMS PLAYED HUGE ROLE IN THIS PROJECT AS NONE OF THE BEDROOMS HAD ANY PROPER STORAGE.

WE CREATED A FLOOR TO CEILING WARDROBE IN THE BEDROOM AND THE SAME WITH A LIBRARY SHELF UNIT IN THE OTHER ROOM FOR OUR CLIENT’S BOOK COLLECTION.

WE ALSO CONVINCED THE CLIENT TO CONTINUE THE TIMBER FLOOR TO THE REAR OF THE HOUSE INSTEAD OF KEEPING THE EXISTING SLATE TILES IN THE REAR AND TIMBER FLOOR BOARDS IN THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE. 

THE NEW LIGHT COURT ALONG THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY PROVIDES NATURAL LIGHT AND VENTILATION FOR THE SECOND BEDROOM/STUDY AS WELL AS CREATE A VISUAL CONNECTION TO THE REAR COURTYARD THROUGH THE NEW WINDOW IN THE KITCHEN.

THE REAR PART OF THE HOUSE IS NOW CONNECTED TO THE NEW GARAGE THROUGH THE EXISTING REAR COURTYARD. WE ALSO CREATED AN OUTDOOR-INDOOR LIVING AREA WITH AN ENGINEERED TIMBER LOOKING DECK FOR ENTERTAINING.

THE EXISTING INTERNAL PLASTERED BRICK WALLS AND THE ORIGINAL CEILING INCLUDING THE CEILING ROSES AND ORIGINAL CORNICES WERE FULLY RESTORED. THE INTERNAL WALLS INCLUDING THE NEW EXTENSION WERE GIVEN A FRESH COAT OF PAINT IN NATURAL WHITE TO GIVE A MORE CONTEMPORARY FEEL AND THE NEW SMOKED OAK TIMBER FLOOR PROVIDES WARMTH.

WE BELIEVE FOR THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, WE HAVE ACHIEVED AND CREATED A MODERN LIVING AND FUNCTIONAL LAYOUT WITH HUGE AMOUNT OF STORAGE IN A SINGLE STOREY CONFIGURATION FOR OUR CLIENT, ALL IN QUITE RESTRICTED LONG AND NARROW SITE WHICH IS QUITE COMMON IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF BRUNSWICK IN MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA.

ACHIEVING SUCH A LIVE-ABLE SPACE WITHIN A SMALL FOOT PRINT IS ALWAYS A CHALLENGE AND IN THIS CASE WAS ACHIEVED VERY WELL FOR US AND ALSO FOR OUR CLIENT.

HISTORIC OVERVIEW:

MORE RAPID RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT AMONGST EXISTING BUILDINGS IN BRUNSWICK, IN THE 1880’S, IS LINKED TO THE ARRIVAL OF THE RAILWAY IN 1884, AND THE INTRODUCTION OF THE CABLE TRAMWAY IN 1887.

BRUNSWICK DEVELOPED AS A SELF-CONTAINED AND CLOSE-KNIT COMMUNITY THAT WAS HOME TO RICH AND POOR. WHILST THE VAST BULK OF ITS HOUSING WAS BUILT FOR THE WORKING AND ARTISAN CLASSES, THERE WAS ALSO A SPRINKLING OF MORE SALUBRIOUS RESIDENCES OCCUPIED BY THE MIDDLE-CLASS FACTORY OWNERS, MERCHANTS AND PROFESSIONALS.

MANY TERRACE ROWS WERE ERECTED AS INVESTMENTS IN INNER SUBURBS, SUCH AS NORTH CARLTON AND BRUNSWICK IN MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA IN THE BOOM YEARS. MOST OF THE TERRACES ERECTED IN THOSE AREAS AROUND 1890, PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ERA IN THE LATE VICTORIAN ERA.

OUR CLIENT’S PROPERTY INCLUDING THE OTHER FOUR SINGLE-FRONTED BRICK COTTAGES ON THE STREET, EACH SITS ON A NARROW ALLOTMENT AND EACH WITH A SHALLOW FRONT VERANDAH, WERE BUILT AROUND 1889 AT THE PEAK OF THE MELBOURNE LAND BOOM. EACH HOUSE HAS A PLUMBED BATH AND AN OUTSIDE TOILET THAT WAS ORIGINALLY SERVICED BY THE REAR LANE-WAY.

THESE FIVE SINGLE-FRONTED BRICK COTTAGES RELATIVELY INTACT AND A GOOD REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLE OF THE MODEST TERRACE ROWS BUILT FOR THE BOOMING WORKING CLASS IN BRUNSWICK DURING THE 1880’S.

THEY DISPLAY MANY TYPICAL FEATURES OF THIS VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE STYLE, SEEN ELSEWHERE IN BRUNSWICK, INCLUDING THE TALL AND DECORATED PARAPET, SIMPLE VERANDAHS WITH A SLIGHTLY CONVEX ROOF FORM AND DECORATED WITH CAST IRON LACEWORK, BIOCHROME BRICKWORK TO THE FAÇADE, TIMBER FRAMED TRIPARTITE WINDOWS AND SOLID TIMBER DOORS WITH HIGHLIGHTS.

ALL FIVE COTTAGES HAVE FOUR ROOMS AND A VIRTUALLY IDENTICAL LAYOUT; THEY WERE PREDOMINANTLY USED AS RENTAL ACCOMMODATION IN THE PAST. THE TENANTS IN THOSE DAYS MIGHT INCLUDE THE RAILWAY WORKERS, THE TIMBER MERCHANTS, THE BRICK LAYERS – A REFLECTION OF THE PREDOMINANCE OF MANUAL WORKERS AND SMALL BUSINESS OPERATORS IN MANY PARTS OF BRUNSWICK IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

OUR CLIENT’S PROPERTY INCLUDING TWO OTHER COTTAGES WERE BUILT AND OWNED BY THE CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING SOCIETY WHICH HAD A HIGH TURNOVER RATE OF OWNERSHIP AND TENANCY THROUGHOUT THE LATE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES. THE OTHER TWO COTTAGES WERE BUILT FOR PRIVATE BUYERS.

THIS ROW OF FIVE SINGLE-STOREY ITALIANATE TERRACE HOUSES HAS BIOCHROMATIC FACADES AND PARTY WALLS. THE SEPARATE ROOFS ARE HIPPED AND CLADDED WITH CORRUGATED IRON. WHERE THE CHIMNEYS ARE RETAINED THEY ARE RENDERED AND MOULDED IN A TYPICAL VICTORIAN FORM.

THESE FIVE TERRACES HAVE A HIGH, RENDERED PARAPET CONCEALING THE ROOF ELEMENTS, DECORATED WITH A CENTRAL TRIANGULAR PEDIMENT FLANKED BY SCROLLS. THE PARAPET DESIGN WITH A TRIANGULAR PEDIMENT DESIGN, DIFFERS FROM THE OTHERS IN BEING SIMPLER AND LESS ORNAMENTAL.

THE VERANDAHS HAVE ORNATE CAST IRON LACEWORK AND ARE CLADDED IN CORRUGATED IRON WITH A GENTLE CONVEX PROFILE.

IN OUR CLIENT’S CASE, THE CAST-IRON LACEWORK TO BALUSTRADES AND VERANDAHS TO OUR CLIENT’S TERRACE HAVE BEEN REMOVED, EITHER BECAUSE IT WASN’T THE PREVIOUS OWNER’S PREFERENCE, OR IT HAD LACKING MAINTENANCE AND HAD DETERIORATED THROUGHOUT THE TIME, WHICH THIS FREQUENTLY HAPPENS TO THE CAST-IRON LACEWORK.   

EACH FAÇADE HAS A SINGLE TIMBER FRAMED TRIPARTITE WINDOW WITH DOUBLE HUNG SASHES, TIMBER MOULDINGS AND BLUE STONE WINDOW SILLS.

THE TERRACES DISPLAY VARIOUS LEVELS OF INTACTNESS. THE ALTERATIONS INCLUDE NON-ORIGINAL FRONT FENCES TO ALL DWELLINGS; REMOVAL OF CHIMNEY; LOSS OF SCROLLS TO THE PEDIMENTS; OVER-PAINTED BRICKWORK; LOSS OR REPLACEMENT OF CAST IRON LACEWORK; ALTERED OR REPLACED FRONT DOOR; CONCRETE VERANDAH SURFACE. THE UNIFORMITY OF THIS TERRACE IS SOMEWHAT DIMINISHED BY THE VARIETY OF FRONT FENCE DESIGNS

ALTHOUGH WE FOUND THAT OUR CLIENT’S PROPERTY WAS BUILT AND OWNED BY THE CITY OF MELBOURNE BUILDING SOCIETY AROUND 1889, IT IS SO UNFORTUNATE THAT THERE ISN’T ANY SUPPORTING INFORMATION REGARDING WHO THE SPECIFIC ARCHITECT AND THE BUILDER WERE.