Connecting Lives – Mygunyah by The Circus by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design

Located in Fitzroy, Victoria, Mygunyah by The Circus by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design is a family home filled with character and texture. Split into three separate pavilions that softly connect to each other, the residence offers a wealth of natural light and textures that add extra nuances to internal features.

Located just across the road from Edinburgh Gardens, Mygunyah by the Circus is situated amid an array of Victorian and Edwardian buildings. Approached by the clients, who had just bought the house, Matt Gibson Architecture + Design designed and re-structured the home to allow a six-person family with four young children as well as live-in grandparents. To do this, the team added bedrooms, merging interior spaces with the surrounding garden.

Through the conceptualisation of the home, Matt Gibson Architecture + Design revised three distinct pavilions that would come together as one residence.

Through the conceptualisation of the home, the architects revised three distinct pavilions that would come together as one residence. The first pavilion is the original Victorian-era structure, while the second is the contemporary building in cream brick by Brickworks and the third pavilion – situated on the western side – involves a family room and a series of individual gardens. The forms of the pavilions are inspired by the Arts and Crafts details of the neighbouring building to which Matt Gibson found provided a sympathetic connection with this building and the context of the area. For Mygunyah by the Circus, the team collaborated with Brickworks on various shades of bricks, one being the Daniel Robertson brick in a bluff blend. Chosen to coordinate with the existing building, the cream brick is a contemporary interpretation of the original brick with a striking texture, colour and tone to it that links the pavilions together.

To the west of the house there is a green flank that is broken up into three individual gardens and provides a link to the Edinburgh Gardens across the street. Throughout the home, the architects have interpreted ideas of the existing building into more contemporary designs to fit the modern home. In the family room, a cavity brick system was installed that has 2 layers of double brick wall. On the exterior is the La Paloma Romero brick from Brickworks while inside is white painted brick.

Approached by the clients, who had just bought the house, Matt Gibson Architecture + Design designed and re-structured the home to allow a six-person family with four young children as well as live-in grandparents.

The home has also been zoned into distinct elements. For example, downstairs holds the formal living and dining spaces, a library zone and the kitchen with links to the garden. Upstairs the architect has split the zones, with one side moving into the old legacy building that holds the existing bedrooms and the new building containing two additional bedrooms. Formed from a great collaboration, Mygunyah by the Circus by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design becomes a home that will stand the test of time and create a platform for ongoing memories and experiences.