Yarra Street Residence

by by Sonelo Design Studio

From the Architect

At its heart, this family home has been designed with a focus on the experiences and rituals of domestic life. These are recast as opportunities for simple moments of pleasure: celebrating the ever changing phenomena of nature, contrasts of spatial volumes experienced in movement through the house, and delight in the everyday practice of living.

The architecture frames moments of discovery and delight. A layering of grey, white and timber creates a comfortable interior canvas on which the dance of sunlight and shadow are projected.

Movement through the house is enriched by a sequence of contrasting light and dark spaces. The dim, narrow corridor of the original worker’s cottage opens up to a courtyard vestibule: an indoor garden, skylit with planting, loose pebble flooring and a bluestone paver. This is a charming moment, bringing daylight into the centre of the house and softly delineating the threshold between old and new.

A spiral steel staircase rises from the corridor, bathed in light from clerestory windows. A sculptural form, celebrating sinuous movement between floors.

A habitable joinery wall spans the length of the extension, incorporating bench seats beneath skylights. These internal bay windows introduce natural light along the boundary, and offer places to read, play and converse with a view of the sky.

Bathrooms are designed as spaces of contrast – moody in tonal grey porcelain. In the shower an operable skylight frames a special part of the daily ritual – a private and joyful experience of nature.

From the Architect

At its heart, this family home has been designed with a focus on the experiences and rituals of domestic life. These are recast as opportunities for simple moments of pleasure: celebrating the ever changing phenomena of nature, contrasts of spatial volumes experienced in movement through the house, and delight in the everyday practice of living.

The architecture frames moments of discovery and delight. A layering of grey, white and timber creates a comfortable interior canvas on which the dance of sunlight and shadow are projected.

Movement through the house is enriched by a sequence of contrasting light and dark spaces. The dim, narrow corridor of the original worker’s cottage opens up to a courtyard vestibule: an indoor garden, skylit with planting, loose pebble flooring and a bluestone paver. This is a charming moment, bringing daylight into the centre of the house and softly delineating the threshold between old and new.

A spiral steel staircase rises from the corridor, bathed in light from clerestory windows. A sculptural form, celebrating sinuous movement between floors.

A habitable joinery wall spans the length of the extension, incorporating bench seats beneath skylights. These internal bay windows introduce natural light along the boundary, and offer places to read, play and converse with a view of the sky.

Bathrooms are designed as spaces of contrast – moody in tonal grey porcelain. In the shower an operable skylight frames a special part of the daily ritual – a private and joyful experience of nature.