Measured Layering – We Should Be So Lucky by multiplicity

As an adaptive re-use, We Should Be So Lucky recalibrates an existing home, integrating increased privacy and an enhanced sense of identity. multiplicity layers a series of considered insertions among the existing, extending on original principles and enriching the home.

On its small and non-traditionally shaped site, We Should Be So Lucky sits as an efficient maximisation of the available allotment, amid other character rich homes in Fitzroy North. Having previously been designed by David Luck some ten years prior, time and wear meant additional works were needed to continue its legacy. Both in reflecting how the building has engaged with environmental conditions over the years and how the needs of the owners have evolved, the new works take on renovation and adaptive re-use principles from the original in reinterpreting the new. multiplicity reworks the interior whilst repairing other skeletal and external elements to enhance a sense of enclosure.

Whilst the outer elements are tweaked, repaired and improved, the main reworking is found internally, seeing the interior reflect a more welcoming, contemporary condition.

Originally designed to be clad in various plantings, its presence along the streetscape had well been established and made the home recognisable. Maintaining the outer shell was integral to the new works, however, elements around and within the core feature also needed remediation. Built by Caedman Construction, together with carefully reworked landscape design by McNuttndorff Landscapes, the result ensures an increased barrier of privacy is inserted between the public and private realms of the home. Structurally, the house also needed correcting throughout and, through a carefully considered approach, the resolve captures measured amendments that were only deemed necessary.

Managing the existing systems and the interconnections between water and metal were important, as was increasing acoustic attenuation and ensuring adequate irrigation for the planter beds throughout. Integrated into these systems and into the design of the building itself are the control of solar and natural ventilation that allow the management of climatic conditions from within. Whilst the outer elements are tweaked, repaired and improved, the main reworking is found internally, seeing the interior reflect a more welcoming, contemporary condition. By embedding a similar efficiency as the building, as well as bringing character and charm into the interior, the spaces take on new life. With the absence of storage addressed, the provision for screening and privacy on the ground level ensure the security of the home.

Maintaining the outer shell was integral to the new works, however, elements around and within the core feature also needed remediation.

Through a considered lens, We Should Be So Lucky is given a series of new interventions that elevate its purpose and match the interior to its exterior personality. Conceived through restraint, multiplicity adds to the past whilst preparing the spaces for its future.