Yarraville Casa Familiar

by Kate Vernon Architects

Yarraville Casa Familiar by Kate Vernon Architects is a modern addition to an existing 1950s weatherboard house for an Argentinian-Australian family of 5, who desperately wanted more space to enjoy time together with family and friends. The house reflects the fun Argentinian-Australian family who live there, with a thoughtful balance between public and private spaces. New living areas step down across the site to connect with the garden and create delightful new indoor-outdoor connections. The house is open, generous, playful, expressive and above all, welcoming.

Design Response to Concept and Brief:
The house sits within a suburban garden context on a sloping site. The new addition is nestled into the garden with living spaces directly connected to the garden, whereas before, the house sat disconnected above the garden. Achieving a strong visual and physical connection with the garden and new outdoor fireplace was one of the main objectives of the brief. Volume and compression are used to highlight the transition between spaces; old and new. One of the driving principles for the plan was to balance the communal and private spaces in a clearly defined way, without them feeling disconnected. Large sliding doors activate or close off the two worlds in a lively way, further opening or closing additional internal views in between, revealed or concealed. This clear definition is a common design principle in Argentinian houses and one the client wanted to bring to their Melbourne home. There are generous spaces to come together, balanced by smaller moments of sanctuary. Engaged seating helps to create a sense of casual hospitality within the larger spaces, including the window seat, dining bench, or steps for informal party seating. Tactile materials like recycled brick and timber, burnished concrete, charred cladding, and soft tan leather reference the Argentinian heritage, but also help to express an Australian casualness of an easy-to-live-in, robust family home.

Relationship to Context:
The streetscape is seemingly unchanged despite the existing house being substantially altered. The new addition steps down the site to make the most of its garden context and plays with volume. Poking up and out, the new addition is only visible via glimpses down the side.

Response to Constraints:
The orientation of the site with north along the side posed its own challenge. Twin skillion roofs of the new addition perform different functions as expressed through their opposite forms. The north-side skillion pops up to allow north light into the main living areas, while the south-side skillion creates a large north-facing roof area for solar panels and a softer south light into private bedrooms.

Sustainability:
Initiatives include north orientation for living spaces, passive design, protected glazing, recycled materials, minimising waste and capturing natural ventilation via high louvres and window placement. A large solar system with battery storage helps to offset power consumption, while the early decision to renovate rather than demolish meant we could utilise the existing framing.