Lofted and Light Filled – Alexandra Penthouse by Dita Studio

Drawing inspiration from the adjacent curated landscape, Alexandra Penthouse combines generous volumes and plays on spatial unexpectedness to create a home of lofted proportions. Dita Studio utilises controlled restraint and an emphasis on quality and nuanced texture in imagining the resulting enviable abode.

Crowning the upper floors of the development it sits above, Alexandra Penthouse is located in Melbourne’s inner east, in Kew. Matching adjacent properties in grandeur and through a similar sense of scale, the resulting proportions of this penthouse offer a matching assortment of spatial interrelationships. Greeted upon entry is a sweeping stone and plaster clad helical stair that directs the eye upward. The feature element is an invitation to explore the multiple levels as well as emphasising the volumes and their height. As a response to the surrounding landscape by Jack Merlo Landscape Design, an open and connected approach internally is defined by curated and formal lines and a deliberately restrained palette. Dita Studio appoints an elevated and detailed approach to meet the equally lofted lived experience of this impressive abode.

Combined with textured plaster white walls, the restricted palette reflects the intended simplicity for the interior, connecting and opening to the outside.

Built by owner and developer Franze Developments, Alexandra Penthouse is conceived together with structural engineering by Brogue Consulting Engineers. Emphasised by large spanning openings and connected vistas between internal and external views, the free-flowing nature of the resulting floor plan offers a natural fluidity. Contrasted against the very linear approach, circulation is expressed more in sweeping motions, highlighted most predominantly by the vertically connecting stair feature at the entry, acting as both a notional sculpture and an animated element to engage with. Only connecting to its outdoor space, full-height steel doors open to the southern courtyard, private pool and garden spaces.

A sense of clarity and precision connects the select and restrained materiality, where a minimal palette is given depth through veined stone and timber elements. Combined with textured plaster white walls, the restricted palette reflects the intended simplicity for the interior, connecting and opening to the outside. As is the movement internally, the thresholds between in and out are designed in a way that enables the penthouse outer edges to open to the surrounding landscape and curated elements, extending the footprint of the home. Nuanced accents of rich navy blue are integrated throughout, layering in texture and to break the otherwise monochromatic palette.

Dita Studio has optimised the enviable siting and access to the elements, creating a beautifully textured home, openly welcoming an interplay with light and shadow.

Through its boldly minimal approach, the resulting spaces of Alexandra Penthouse offer its residents an endlessly illuminated home that truly embraces its outpost. Dita Studio has optimised the enviable siting and access to the elements, creating a beautifully textured home, openly welcoming an interplay with light and shadow.