Continuing Craft – West Brunswick Residence by Studio May

Evolving its Edwardian origins, West Brunswick Residence has been opened up to the rear to embrace the northern aspect. Studio May draws on the crafted detail of the original home in proposing the expansion, ensuring an embedded attentive rigour.

Nestled into the established residential enclave of West Brunswick in Melbourne, the Edwardian home preserves its history, which is captured in its detailing and remaining ornate features. In pursuit of optimising the site and the potential of the home as an engaged and connected series of spaces, the goal was to open the rigid, formal planning to reorient the main living areas. Instead of its previous engagement inward, the proposal seeks to turn the focus outward, toward the rear yard to bring the natural in. Notably, natural light, solar gain and an overall connection beyond the building edge were key. Studio May expands on the experience of the home, enhancing each daily ritual through the insertion of refined and detailed elements.

In pursuit of optimising the site and the potential of the home as an engaged and connected series of spaces, the goal was to open up the formally rigid planning to reorient the main living areas.

Built by Never Stop Group, West Brunswick Residence was initially only a light alterations project. Through the growth of a trusting working relationship, the scale and extents of the work grew, and a holistic home ensued. A replanning of the original was crucial to the added elements linking in with a deliberate consistency. An overall theme of openness now runs through the home, seeing the old and new sit harmoniously alongside one another. With the new works focused on the interior, the joinery becomes an integral element of the new spaces, with the detail and select materiality sitting as testament to that shared commitment.

Continuing the relevance of the home became a central focus and led to the close collaboration between designer and maker. Every detail was laboured over, and the form of the new elements offers a timeless quality through elevated materiality. A showpiece of the connected living and dining spaces, the kitchen sits as a hero of its own making. Devoid of any overhead cabinetry, the lower-level joinery sits almost as pieces of furniture in the space and, together with the stone top and splashback, concentrates the eye downward. The skylight above then washes the back wall and brings natural light deeper into the home, accompanying the greenery now coming in from the outer edges.

Studio May expands on the experience of the home, enhancing each daily ritual through the insertion of refined and detailed elements.

Through a classical lens, the proposed links in effortlessly with the existing, ensuring the continued relevance over time of Studio May’s West Brunswick Residence.