Hawthorn House

by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture

Hawthorn House is a flawless creation of contemporary Australian architecture.

This Victorian house of Hawthorn in Melbourne is a deceiving creation of architecture and design, to any onlooker passing by.

The extension to this 1890s, single-fronted weatherboard cottage is an exercise of clever compact planning by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture, which seamlessly weaves together both traditional and contemporary architectural design.

Whilst introducing an elegant, two-story extension in the rear, the designer has preserved the scale, importance and character of this traditional Victorian house, with little, to no changes to the front visage of the house.

A delicate screen of vertical timbers, tempers light throughout the house, creating both views and privacy and creating a characteristic veil which encloses the upper level bedroom suite.

The rhythmic timber screen becomes a unifying architectural design element, which extends through to the interior design through the form of a staircase balustrade. This balustrade screen visually animates an otherwise muted interior sensitively set within the historic shell.

Natural light is well distributed throughout the house, with sun-washed walls that flood the open planned interior.

Double height spaces incorporated into the architectural design of this house, which has been established above the staircase and dining room table, create volumetric interest, whilst improved visual connections to the back garden evoke a sense of spatial generosity that far exceeds the modest dimensions of the home’s interior footprint.

Photography by Jonathon Ng.

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