Restrained Refinement – Hornsby Residence by Conrad Architects

From a place of restraint, Hornsby Street emerges as a refined and carefully considered home of measured and classical proportions. Conrad Architects introduces a foundation of formality and order to conjure a home of familiar heritage that respectfully reinterprets the traditional townhouse through a relevant contemporary lens.

Set within the established and grand homes of Melbourne’s Malvern, Hornsby Street combines references to the classical with a sense of the enduring through timeless key features with a contemporary edge. Taking influence from the oversized and impressive forms of the many traditional heritage townhouses it is surrounded by and that have come before it, the resulting home also takes cues from global Georgian and Neoclassicism stylings. Reinterpreted within its context, adjustments see the home as a modern iteration of its former musings, where a generous sense of scale and a formality drive the planning and nuanced detailing. Conrad Architects brings repetition and rhythm together with a muted neutral approach to create a home designed to endure.

Conrad Architects brings repetition and rhythm together with a muted neutral approach to create a home designed to endure.

Hornsby Street is built by Agushiand complemented by select stylings by Simone Haag. The home is born of a considered restraint. Linework is minimal and fixings are concealed to further enhance timelessness and to emphasise the linear nature of the home’s comprising parts. The absence of decorative and ornate elements creates space for more handcrafted and refined detailing to be highlighted in the home and also to allow the individual personality of the owners to be expressed through artwork, furniture and object. The heightened sense of luxury is evidenced throughout, where quality finishes and materiality offer an elevated sensory engagement.

A muted palette is utilised throughout each of the spaces, where natural stones and light-coloured timbers come together with a mutual cohesion. Scale is compressed and released in various settings through the home, to encourage an openness and to hint at an intimacy at the same time. This hierarchy is then created through the use of spatial cues in a subtle way, instead of more formalised shutting of walls and dividing elements. The sense of elegance and emphasis on proportion allows the home to carve its own presence and be the backdrop for the many workings of daily life and open up to entertain as needed.

The absence of decorative and ornate elements creates space for more handcrafted and refined detailing to be highlighted in the home, and also to allow the individual personality of the owners to be expressed through artwork, furniture and object.

Hornsby Street layers richness through subtleties and creates a beautiful home of depth and intrigue. Conrad Architects has established a true presence through the classical sensibilities infused in the home, carving its permanence and enduring relevance for years to come.