What we love most about this house: The amazingly detailed sheet metal screen is like peering into an enchanted forest.
The details:
Architect: Matt Gibson Architecture + Design
Location: Middle Park, Melbourne
From the rear, this Melbourne terrace is like a timber-clad apostrophe nestled tightly between its neighbours. Matt Gibson Architecture + Design took on this renovation and extension on a tight budget.
“The rear addition presents as a long tall timber-clad tube wrapped around the remnants of the existing boundary walls and cleared ground floor interior,” Matt explains.
By reconfiguring the interior spaces to one side they have been able to draw light in through a 10-metre-long skylight, solving that ever-present terrace drawback of cave-like spaces.
At the rear of the first floor a ‘forest’ transfer has been applied to the windows of the master bedroom, while a cut sheet metal screen is set externally beyond the windows.
“The artistic treetop graphic plays on the intention of bringing the garden inside and looking over treetops,” Matt says. “At night an eery cinematic dimension takes over the master bedroom with a wise owl keeping watch over the Parkland.”
The most is made of the narrow site by using unobtrusive cabinetry while the skylight draws in light and widens the space.
Recycled timber products, low embodied energy materials, low energy appliances, AAA rated water fittings, T5 fluro lighting and locally sourced & made materials all add to the environmental credentials.
Who says there isn’t room for a little bit of enchantment in the suburbs!
Matt Gibson Architecture + Design
mattgibson.com.au
Photography: John Wheatley