Highbury Grove

The Ritz & Ghougassian architecture studio has expanded a traditional Melbourne home, using a minimalist material palette that leaves exposed block walls inside and out.
The property is located in the suburbs of Prahran, on Highbury Grove - a street lined with traditional cottages surrounded by lush gardens. Ritz & Ghougassian was instructed to add an extension to the back of the property. A pair of rooms housed in the existing house has also been modernized. A narrow corridor that extends beyond the rooms opens onto an open and bright living space, bordered at each end by trees, including for example Australian tree ferns. The new extension is constructed from simple concrete blocks that emphasize the orthogonal layout of the walls and provide privacy to its occupants.

The project contrasts the lightness of light and air with the heaviness of concrete walls. The overlap of the walls creates a vaguely defined volume, momentarily holding the air. The light dances on a wide spectrum of surfaces, creating an expansive movement through space. The uniform concrete surfaces lining the interiors are contrasted by the smooth carpentry of eucalyptus. The distinctive grain of the wood is repeated on the surfaces that extend along the sides of the pieces. The sliding glass doors connecting the living space to the courtyard are dressed with curtains that provide a softer texture to the palette of materials. The curtains also offer privacy to the master bedroom on the opposite side of the yard. It has materials identical to living spaces, carpentry is completed by stone surfaces in the bathroom.

Ritz & Ghougassian