Biophilic Connection – Merri Creek House by Alexandra Buchanan Architecture
Reorienting the home as a functioning entity among the landscape, Merri Creek House turns the traditional residential arrangement on its head. Alexandra Buchanan Architecture combines both a restorative and expansive effort to ensure clear connections to green space throughout the home.
Tucked behind its established heritage façade and encasing timber weatherboards, Merri Creek House unfolds as a series of openly connected and light-filled volumes. Asserting its place in the streetscape, the frontage is brought back to its former glory, being restored in full to ensure a continuation of the home’s legacy. As a central part of the brief, the revisions and expansion work needed to allow for better connections to natural elements – both in the form of plantings and access to natural light and ventilation. By breaking down the separation between the house and garden, Alexandra Buchanan Architecture ensures the two become deliberately intertwined.
After removing outdated additions, a more appropriately scaled and openly connected series of volumes come together. Dotted with green patches that reflect a contemporary way of living, each addition leads to an open gathering space at the rear. Whilst the original home retains connections to a more formal sense of separation, the new areas offer a sense of balance. Marking the transition between old and new, a glazed walkway acts as a portal of sorts, hinting at the openness to come.
Orientation was key to creating internal comfort and a more passively viable home. Aligning the back of house and support spaces along the western edge of the property, the opposing eastern side that houses the living spaces captures ample natural sunlight throughout the day. With the home spread over multiple levels, the upper portion is allocated as a retreat space for the children, whilst the family zones and adult areas remain on the lower floors. Creating this separation future-proofs the home and elongates the relevancy of the heritage elements, ensuring the spaces can adapt over the coming years.
By breaking down the separation between the house and garden, Alexandra Buchanan Architecture ensures the two become deliberately intertwined.
From a muted base, Merri Creek House is delicately extended through a lens of historical sensitivity. Bridging the past and future, Alexandra Buchanan Architecture utilises a restrained and contemporary refinement to ensure continued relevance for years to come.
