A Modern, Robust Iteration – Rathdowne Street House by Robert Simeoni Architects

The likely and familiar conversion of an existing Victorian terrace home into a more contemporary iteration sees Rathdowne Street House reworked to better capture the surrounding natural elements and encourage light inward. Robert Simeoni Architects brings a cleverly compact and articulated planning approach together with measured restraint to create a modern, robust home of resilience.

Woven into the tightly threaded residential fabric of Melbourne’s inner north, Rathdowne Street House is located in Carlton amongst similar Victoria homes. Inherited as a long, narrow and dark structure, reminiscent of its ornate past, the two-storey terrace home was in need of renovation and opening up to allow a connection to the elements. Through a cohesive and encompassing approach, Rathdowne Street House is expanded to align with a newly constructed brief, while an added separate structure to the rear increases the amenity while adding functional flexibility to the site. Robert Simeoni Architects has injected a series of insertions and additions that allow the façade of the home to open and move throughout the year, as needed.

The positioning of the expanded house and new studio then create a walled courtyard space, both private and secluded from the street, while offering some much-needed green space.

Built by GANDE Constructions, while Rathdowne Street House formally responds to its site and extrudes its previous mass, it also addresses both orientation and solar gain opportunities, creating a comfortable and sustainable abode. While elements of the original home are retained, the new introductions address the contemporary brief of its current custodians. Operable shutters allow for natural ventilation and act as a means to abate unwanted solar gains and create an opportunity for the façade to be animated in its own way. The use of timber also allows the building to age and patina over time, reacting to its site, while also adding a natural warm and textural element.

Comprised of a restrained palette, minimal differences in finish and materiality reinforce the boldness of the resulting home, with each selected for its simplicity and unique texture. The raw and exposed grey bricks sit in contrast to the painted plaster and create differing moods in their composition, while the honesty and untouched nature of the concrete, timber and galvanised metal all add depth to the spaces they inhabit. The spatial arrangements and additions are curated in such a way that the voids above allow swaths of natural light inward and bathe the spaces in ample illumination.

The raw and exposed grey bricks sit in contrast to the painted plaster and create differing moods in their composition, while the honesty and untouched nature of the concrete, timber and galvanised metal all add depth to the spaces they inhabit.

Through an opening up to its elements, Robert Simeoni Architects transforms and extends the relevance of Rathdowne Street House by incorporating mechanisms that respond to its site and allow an embrace of sustainable principles.