House in the City by James Allen Architect

A reimagining of an archetypal Adelaide villa in Rose Park, House in the City celebrates an iconic piece of Australian architectural history. James Allen Architect preserves the heritage features of the building’s past while injecting subtle contemporary additions to make the home more functional, light and modern.

While Australia’s architectural landscape is fairly young compared to the wider Western world it draws its inspiration from, the Adelaide villa remains a cornerstone of iconic Australian architecture. This is something James Allen Architect seeks to celebrate – doing so through a highly considered renovation of an inner-city home.

 The original brick, textured walls and warm hues of the timber floorboards and cupboards contrast with the tiled floor and sleek decor, imbuing a refined, luxe farmhouse feel; a welcome retreat given its inner-city location.

The existing home was purchased by Allen’s parents and was neglected and dilapidated, with an overgrown garden and cracked walls. New additions would help define the old and new parts of the house, while further alterations were needed to breathe new life into the home and celebrate its heritage features.

Therefore, various interventions are made throughout to modernise the dwelling. Foremost, a new pavilion is added to house the living areas across the back of the structure. While new, its design echoes the Dutch gable roof and masonry construction style of the original villa. Floor-to-ceiling doors are introduced to connect the indoors with the garden, as does the use of stone for the walls inside the home. In the kitchen, the natural quartzite island benchtop is retained and installed as a single slab.

James Allen Architect rekindles the spirit of Australia’s heritage architecture through this nuanced transformation of a bygone home.

House in the City feels warm, rustic and charming. The original brick, textured walls and warm hues of the timber floorboards and cupboards contrast with the tiled floor and sleek decor, imbuing a refined, luxe farmhouse feel; a welcome retreat given its inner-city location. The space appears simple and unpretentious, ironically born from a complex and considered balance of materiality and texture.

James Allen Architect rekindles the spirit of Australia’s heritage architecture through this nuanced transformation of a bygone home. In this way, House in the City pays homage to the beauty of the familiar and the charm that arises from balancing the old with the new.

Architecture and interior design by James Allen Architect. Build by Build Theory. Landscape design by David Burnett.