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Butterfly House by Neil Architecture
In Melbourne’s inner south-east sits Butterfly House, a Victorian Italianate double-storey villa with a new pavilion where robust materials seamlessly link inside with out.
Having lived in the historic dwelling and its 1980s extension for almost a decade, the clients approached Neil Architecture to conceptualise a new addition that would better support their family of five. The brief was to retain the existing villa, reimagine its existing rooms as bedrooms and formal living spaces and provide new living, dining, kitchen and ancillary spaces in a new structure sitting atop a basement garage. Seeking a tranquil escape from their busy lives, the family needed space for privacy and connection and, as avid gardeners, aspired to forge a more meaningful relationship to their much-loved backyard.
Set on the street’s south side and surrounded by large homes, the site challenged the design team to create privacy and maximise access to natural light. In response, the team pursued a vision for a standalone single-storey pavilion connected to the historic villa via a slender glazed walkway – a gesture that carves new landscaped courtyards between the two structures and draws in northern light and cross breezes. The removal of a large oak tree, necessary in accommodating the basement, freed the addition to adopt an L-shaped footprint addressing the rear garden – “a beautiful landscape setting for the clients to potter around in,” reflects David Neil, director of Neil Architecture.
The villa’s ornamentation inspired Neil Architecture to explore a decorative quality in the new architecture. Through thoughtful consideration of the orientation and views, the pavilion’s ceiling adopts a faceted expression, “almost like a folded piece of paper,” muses Neil. The ceiling rises to guide sightlines into the backyard, while a raised channel along its lower edge maximises views to the two internal courtyards, suspending the home’s kitchen, living and dining spaces amid natural light and lush landscape.
Pale oak linings enhance the pavilion’s sculptural articulation, complemented by travertine porcelain tiles and gold-veined black granite, which forms a tactile, monochromatic palette. By virtue of these resilient materials, the internal planes reach outward to the garden, lending organic continuity between indoor and outdoor volumes. “The consistency of the material specification and application results in spaces that are harmonious, warm and practical – an exercise in material restraint and balance,” says Daniel Riddell, project architect at Neil Architecture. A deep, timber-lined eave shelters the outdoor dining area from the elements, where a sliding servery creates an aperture to the kitchen scullery to easily accommodate the client’s passion for alfresco entertaining.
A series of unique, butterfly-profile columns bridge the expression of the historic home and its contemporary addition. Pushing the boundaries of material exploration, they offer “a finely crafted quality inspired by the villa’s ornamental detailing and reflect on the folded language of the pavilion’s form,” says Neil. The columns’ inverted V-shaped detailing in travertine porcelain tile – the result of the builder’s commitment to prototyping – crafts a conceptual hallmark for the project with its striking pattern.
The challenge of setting a landscape over the new basement was met with a low-lying garden, designed in collaboration with Eckersley Garden Architecture.
The challenge of setting a landscape over the new basement was met with a low-lying garden, designed in collaboration with Eckersley Garden Architecture. Neil Architecture salvaged a series of established crepe myrtle and Japanese maple trees from a nearby project, accommodating their roots in custom metal cylinders that harmonise with the architecture. This element was “one of the big successes in this project,” reflects Neil.
Concealed below, the basement accommodates car parking, a kids retreat, gym and cellar. Containing these spaces below ground allowed the pavilion a modest, single- level footprint – a choice that was “essential in maximising natural light to the backyard, which would otherwise be overshadowed by a two-storey addition,” says Neil.
Neil Architecture harnessed the original home as an opportunity for a contrast in mood, treating it “with a more decorative approach, abundant with rich colours and textures,” says Riddell. Subdued grey-green tones wash over the ornate cornices, skirtings, architraves and ceiling roses, enhancing the home’s intimate heritage character, while new lighting, joinery and furniture offer a modern counterbalance. To the eastern edge, a generous main suite for the homeowners with a walk-in-robe and ensuite is neatly concealed as part of the new addition, complete with tailored views to the front garden and verandah. Above, a designated kids domain comprises three bedrooms with new ensuites as well as a shared study space, fostering privacy and independence.
With the project spanning close to five years from concept to completion, Neil Architecture cultivated a close working relationship with the homeowners and builder founded on trust and mutual respect. Throughout construction, the design team “saw new opportunities and collaborated with the builder, cabinetmaker and client to arrive at a better outcome,” recalls Riddell. “The clients knew our work and were open to our creative investigations, yet the result has exceeded their expectations – they’re chuffed that they had the courage to follow through with a more daring solution,” reflects Neil.
The experience of walking through the home at night has been particularly rewarding. Transitioning from the moody front rooms to the addition, integrated up-lighting accentuates the finely crafted butterfly columns, while the careful placement of downlights in the folded oak ceiling creates a soft, gentle luminosity. Neil Architecture has shaped diverse experiences as one journeys through Butterfly House – “the solidity and inward-looking character of the brick villa set against the lightness of the pavilion floating within the gardens,” recalls Riddell. These dual identities harmoniously coexist to forge an indelible, place-specific home meaningfully embedded into the landscape.
Architecture and interior design by Neil Architecture. Build by Koorool Constructions. Landscape design by Eckersley Garden Architecture. Engineering by Structplan. Technifirma Flooring & Walling by Eco Outdoor.
