Australian architect Matt Gibson took cues from the designs of European Modernists for this pair of extensions he has added to the rear of a Victorian-era residence in Melbourne .
Gibson – who also recently competed a property inspired by Brazilian Modernist architects – designed the home for a family returning to Australia after a lot more than a decade living in London.
The customers brought with them a scrapbook pictures of European Modernist homes, which influenced the boxy form of the extension.
The residence is named Abstract Home following its composition, which borrows particularly from the buildings of Mies van der Rohe and Erich Mendelsohn – whose perform is characterised by linear varieties and a lack of ornament.
“When we talk about ‘abstract’ we’re talking about a composition exactly where there is an emphasis on type and its depiction through form, colour and texture,” explained Gibson.
“Probably akin with an virtually European Modernist sensibility – it is about reading through abstract geometric varieties with a sturdy clear diagram.”
The extension sits at the back of a Victorian-era residence in the Melbourne suburb of Albert Park and supplies a new dining location and bedrooms for the family.
Bedrooms are contained within a zinc-clad volume that is suspended in excess of a brick and glass block containing the kitchen and dining spot.
The resources have been chosen to help contextualise the extension with the existing developing, which had not been renovated for 100 years.
“The creating hadn’t been enhanced for a century and we felt it was critical that the new invention was derivative of the historical past of the current building, continuing the following new chapter of the very same story,” Gibson informed Dezeen.
“We admired the red brickwork of the current developing and wished to give the rear aspects a related integrity.”
The L-shaped extension encloses a modest patio in a nook against the red brick wall of the outdated house. Glazed doors link the ground floor to this courtyard and a more substantial garden containing a swimming pool at the rear.
“We were keen to keep a completely open footprint amongst inside and out, seemingly without having enclosure, permitting for better usability and flow of space,” mentioned the architect.
A corridor leads from the family dining and residing location to much more formal reception areas in the old property, while a short bridge back links the upper floors.
“The layout is zoned so that formal spaces are located inside the unique front four rooms in which the Victorian detail has been restored, while the rear caters for the main loved ones functions at the ground level with loved ones sleeping spaces housed upstairs,” Gibson explained.
A home office perches above the staircase in the tall brick block and provides accessibility to the two the upper floors and a basement containing the children’s playroom and a cellar.
Pale marble surfaces and white plasterwork are paired with dark tiled floors and exposed brick walls.
“Dark coloured floor and ceiling factors aid to break down the harshness of the frequently underestimated Australian light and the tactility of the all-natural materials palette effect a strong contrast with the smoothness of the much more polished nature of glass, mirror and marble,” added the architect.
Photography is by Shannon McGrath.
Ground floor prepare 
Initial floor program 
Section a single 
Segment two Dezeen
