Local House

by Studio Bright

The Local House by Studio Bright is an existing Californian Bungalow that has been kept intact with the addition of a contemporary 2 storey element to the rear of the home.

Studio Bright have produced another trademark residential design that adds a sense of fulfillment and style to modern family life. The Local House is located in the Victorian beach suburb of St Kilda and fits perfectly into the architectural fabric of the community.

This project has been designed to be robust and durable; to take the knocks of family life. Whilst it’s not precious or delicate, it didn’t mean that ideas of beauty and delight weren’t important to the design thinking. Moments of surprise and delight are incorporated wherever possible; concrete joinery as seat and bench rolled into one, the floating stair as spatial divider and bookshelf, pops of yellow in the kitchen joinery and ensuite tiles, the studio desk opening to the laneway, dappled light from the timber screen, a small laneway porch with a neighbourhood seat, recycled fence palings as concrete formwork.

Concrete has also been used internally to create integrated seats, benches and durable surfaces for family life. Floating over the base, a decorative timber screen fills the end of the upper extruded gable roof form, giving warm contrast to the concrete and containing the main bedroom within. The angled panels of the screen mediate the sun and control overlooking to the neighbours, while still providing distant views over the rooftops beyond. Avoiding the white box on back renovation, this project attempts to create intimacy though connected, family spaces.

The new volume is shifted off the side boundary to open up the living spaces to the sun and to connect the kitchen/dining space to the rear garden. Off-form concrete has been used to form a heavy base with large expressed vertical elements connecting the base to the site.

The kitchen/dining space opens fully to the backyard and feels more like being in a garden pavilion than the interior of a house. The black ceiling and kitchen joinery recede into the background with off-form concrete surfaces and red brick of the existing house giving a sense of external durability.

The use of whiteboard paint turns a painted wall into a family noticeboard. Notes and lists in bright neon markers on the black wall enhance the feeling of a local cafe. Design elements encourage social interaction and engagement; the indoor-outdoor fire place, pizza oven and landscape seat edges. Steps and small seats have been incorporated into the design wherever possible to provide informal spots to sit and reflect or enjoy the view.

The rear of the house has been designed as another front with a new flexible studio garage an important part of the project. Viewed from the house and providing an opportunity to connect with the laneway community at the rear it needed to be elevated beyond the typical shed/ garage response. Views from the lane through the studio and garage are kept open with visibility all the way through to the house. To further reinforce the connection, a laneway concrete seat becomes garage joinery and landscape edge. Bluestone pavers also extend the bluestone cobbles into the site.

The Local House has received the following critical recognition:

2015 Houses Awards: Outdoor: Commendation

2015 Houses Awards: House in a Heritage Context: Commendation

2015 Houses Awards: House Alteration and Addition over 200m2: Commendation

2015 IDEA Awards: Residential-Single: Winner

2015 National Architecture Awards: Residential Architecture – Alterations and Additions: National Award

2015 Intergrain Timber Vision Awards: Residential Exterior: Commendation

2015 Australian Interior Design Awards: Residential Design: Commendation

2015 Think Brick Awards: Kevin Borland Masonry Award: Finalist

2015 Victorian Architecture Awards: Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)

Architecture Award 2015 Dulux Colour Awards: Single Residential Interior: Finalist: Local House

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