London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

A Dark Suburban Home in Melbourne Becomes a Verdant, Light-Filled Refuge

A Dark Suburban Home in Melbourne Becomes a Verdant, Light-Filled Refuge

Architecture studio DREAMER revives a century-old dwelling with an addition that optimizes indoor/outdoor flow.

When a nurse in Melbourne decided to rework her home in the inner-suburban neighborhood of Ascot Vale, she approached local architecture studio DREAMER. "As a frontline medical worker often required to work nights, the client hoped for a nature-filled retreat capable of hosting large gatherings of extended family and friends, while still providing moments of restorative seclusion," states DREAMER’s founder, Benjamin Shields.



A building application was approved for a two-story addition before a fire destroyed the rear of the home, expediting the renovation process of the circa-1900 dwelling. As it stood, the home was poorly insulated, didn’t connect to the backyard, and had dark interiors-elements that weren’t remedied by a 1990s renovation. The new rear addition addresses those shortcomings while providing views from each of its rooms.

"It’s a simpatico relationship," says Shields. "It’s harmonious but the new and old parts of the building are very distinct. The addition offers a completely different interior spatial experience as it uses plywood timber internally, rather than hard plaster."



To create the new addition, changes made during the ’90s were knocked down, and so was a small section of the original house. But it was important to the client and the architect to preserve the heritage elements of the building. "We were looking for ways to preserve as much of the existing home as we could—this led to the idea of a ‘memory’ of the old house being preserved." As a result, it was decided to leave a section of the wall in the courtyard as a seat, and to recycle the bricks for use in the paving.



The addition connects to the existing home via the main hallway. It also features a new kitchen and a living and dining area on the ground level, and a master bedroom on the first floor. A large granite benchtop extends from the kitchen into the living space, creating a breakfast bar with views to the backyard. There, the client enjoys their morning coffee ritual.

Externally, the addition is clad with corrugated metal, a material choice that responds to the sheet metal used for fencing and roofing in the neighboring alley. "It helps the addition to feel like it is part of the laneway condition, rather than the front street," says Shields.



It was an essential part of the brief that the interior overlooked green spaces-and avoided peering into neighboring homes. So DREAMER arranged the addition to overlook the home’s backyard and a small, strategically placed courtyard; a refurbished bathroom and laundry in the original part of the home provides similar views. To further provide privacy to the neighbors—a codified planning restriction when it comes to Victorians-a steel sunshade was installed at ground level. The shade doubly manages interior temperatures of the home.



On the second level, a fully native green roof leads off the master bedroom to create a private terrace planted with a grassy flower garden. "[The garden] is my favorite part of the project," says Shields. "It’s a very special place-it’s lush, quiet, and there’s a view over the native plants to the neighboring roofs. The client is also really starting to make the project her own through planting-we love it when we visit!"



Terrace House 1 Ground Floor



Terrace House 1 First Floor



Terrace House 1 Site Plan

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×