Each year Open House Melbourne offers architecture enthusiasts a sticky beak inside some of Melbourne’s most notable homes designed by architects. In 2018, four recently completed houses will make their Open House Melbourne debut.
Triangle House – Molecule Studio
A beach house in an urban context, this new house in Toorak provides a growing family a unique, small-footprint home in the inner suburbs. Set back from the street, the house is deferential to its neighbours. The design of the house is conceived as “a timber-clad boat sitting on a rocky breakwater. The corner prow of the upper floor projects into the street.”
Cubby Office – Krisna Cheung Architects
The Cubby Office is Krisna Cheung Architects’ extension to their own workplace in North Melbourne. The addition allows the duo to maintain a connection with their children during working hours. The use of perforated metal sheeting creates the playful aesthetic of a cubby house. A translucent floor between levels gives the illusion of a soaring, high-ceilinged space.
Stealth House – Mark Lam Architect
This house comprises a rear extension to a postwar weatherboard home in West Footscray. It adds a large open living space to the house underneath a distinctive angular roof, creating a memorable form that is also invisible when it needs to be.
Melbourne Vernacular – Altereco Design
Designed by Altereco Design in collaboration with sustainability consultants Melbourne Vernacular, this project is a showcase home for sustainable living. It includes passive solar design features such as a recycled brick wall for thermal mass, as well as solar heating and green roof technologies.
The residential projects in the 2018 Open House Melbourne program also include favourites from past years such as Cairo Flats in Carlton, designed by Best Overend in 1936 and includes two studio conversions by Architecture Architecture and Nicholas Agius Architects; Dark Horse in Brunswick East by Architecture Architecture, Doll’s House in Northcote by BKK Architects, Kiah House in Fitzroy North by Austin Maynard Architects and Light Corridor House in Cremorne by Figr.
In 2018, Open House Melbourne will also collaborate with the Australian Institute of Architects’ Emerging Architects and Graduates Network (EmAGN) to provide rare access to architect-designed houses under construction through a series of hard hat tours. The projects include the Merri Creek House and Il Duomo by Wowowa Architecture, Fitzroy Terrace by Matt Gibson Architecture and Ceiling House by Sibling Architecture.
All house tours require pre-booking and a small fee. The first tickets will be released at 8:30am on Friday 13 July. To book, go to Open House Melbourne website.
