London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 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
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×