The existing site contained a 19th century derelict bluestone fronted Victorian Cottage residence that was severely run down. A Special Heritage Overlay was placed over the front bluestone bedroom that fronts Highett Street. The brief meant dealing with from one end – the notion of a 2-storey utilitarian pre-cast concrete box normally common place in multi-res / high rise construction, versus at the other end a now Heritage Listed single storey bluestone cottage front. A decision was made to restore the interior of the existing construct in a clean but typically Victorian detailing, whilst the interior of the new pre-cast construct contains a newly inscribed contemporary architecture – open, light filled, flexible.
The junctions between the two spaces are played off against each other quite directly and literally accentuating and heightening the sense of transition and indeed telling a tale of the site’s history. These elements combined to encourage an interior architecture concerned with both ‘continuity’ and ‘newness’.
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