The ‘new old’ house featuring Melbourne laneway art culture

With a blank canvas and a mixed context that architect Jessica Liew was asked to create a new dwelling for a modern lifestyle but with the charm of an old home, a house with personality and familiarity that was generous to the owners travels and memories.

The principle of ‘Wabi-Sabi’, the beauty of imperfection, was employed to reflect the owners belief in rawness, honesty and simplicity. This tied well with the architect’s “love for robust, natural building materials; each with their own character and surfaces, worn with history and a story to tell“. The home was designed with these principles in mind, of keeping the architecture ‘honest’ to strengthen the connection between the home and its inhabitants and offered the simplicity of a relaxed, robust and simple layout and vibe for everyday living.

Materials: reverse brick veneer construction with light weight timber construction to upper floor, external rough stucco hand applied render hand, internal recycled tumbled red bricks with rake joint painted matt white.

Sustainable features: northern orientation for solar access, reduction of southern windows to reduce thermal loss, cross-ventilation to cool the house in summer months. The concrete slab and internal brickwork mass acts as a heat battery, absorbing daytime winter sun, and slowly releasing that stored energy at night.

Products: pendant light over the dining table by Christopher Boots and composed simply of steel with patina and Quartz crystals tying back to the idea of rawness. Street artist Ghostpatrol created the Miso mural along the staircase walls to mimic Melbourne laneway art culture.

[Photography by Jaime Diaz-Bierro]