Houses 91 preview

We are often drawn to the character of older homes – terraces, country homesteads, traditional Queenslanders and so on. How do you infuse the same richness of character or personality into a newly designed home?

Our front cover of Houses 91 features a house with a distinct personality derived from its location in Fitzroy, Melbourne. This home by John Wardle Architects has used the graffiti that was found on the empty lot as a starting point.

The striking elevation of the Profile House by BLOXAS has given the original Californian bungalow a new identity without taking away any of its charm. Sitting comfortably in its semi-industrial location, this house adds a playful element to the street.

At the Taringa House by Loucas Zahos Architects, the dialogue between the house and adjacent forested creek and neighbouring bushland gives the home an unrestricted quality.

Some renovations do not cry out for a challenge to the original building. At the Kew House by Joyce Architects a seemingly weightless glass pavilion rests against a home that was built for a high-ranking member of the American military during World War II.

Are homes with a modernist or minimalist aesthetic devoid of character? This really depends on the choice of materials and textures. For example, Hampton House 2 by Kennedy Nolan Architects is a modernist-inspired home, “but a range of textural finishes gives the house a feeling of the natural … that prevents the detail-free and minimally furnished spaces from becoming clinical.”

Of course, a home’s character develops and strengthens over time, a quality explored in our Revisited series, but as seen in the selection of projects in this issue, new houses or renovations can be designed to have charm and personality too.

This issue also includes houses by Tobias Partners, A-CH, Jackson Clements Burrows, Fox Johnston, Robson Rak Architects and MCK Architects. We also examine the residential work of Kerstin Thompson Architects, and take a look at 1+2 Architecture’s first house.

Katelin Butler, editor

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