Canning Street House

Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit

CANNING STREET HOUSE

Riofrío Carroll Architects

PROJECT ARCHITECT
Tom Carroll

PROJECT LEADER
Nelson Riofrio

ENERGY REPORT
iRate Energy Building Thermal Performance Assessors

ARCHITECTURE SUPPORT
Madison Horth

DOCUMENTATION
Ivanna Arce

BUILDING SURVEYOR
Nextgen Building Surveyors

MECHANICAL SERVICES
B & M Airconditioning

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
CY Sum Consulting Engineering Services

MANUFACTURERS
Big Ass Fans, Kaldewei, Artemide, Brodware, Flos, Louvretec, Normann Copenhagen, Sanden, V-Zug, Villeroy & Boch, Axor, Capral Commercial Window Systems, Curtain Machine, Daikin Reverse Cycle Airconditioning, Dark King Bluestone, Just Eco, Nest, Oslek Flooring, Panasonic, Solar PV System,Solartube

BRICK MASONRY
Macbric Bricklaying

TIMBER FRAMING
Highwil Constructions

STEEL FRAMING
Heidlebergsteel

GLAZING
Hutchinson Glass & Aluminium

TILING SERVICES
SD Tiling Services

CEILINGS
Custon Ceilings & Partitions

PLUMNBING
Innerline Plumbing

ELECTRICAL SERVICES
Wiring & Electrical Service Group

CARPENTRY
Fletcher Cabinets

AREA
280 m²

YEAR
2020

LOCATION
Carlton, Australia

CATEGORY
Houses, Extension

Text description provided by the architects.

The Kelly family have a passion for cooking that few families do. Their interest is so great that they frequently try to decipher the ingredients of dishes in their favorite restaurants and later reinvent them at home.

Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit

They also have a respect for heritage and sustainable design that along with their culinary passion became the foundation for the design of their new home.

Carlton is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Melbourne. It was established in 1851 to the North-East of the city when the Gold Rush began in Australia.

Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit

The housing typology is primarily brick Victorian-style townhouses, with the vast majority of the plots being narrow and elongated, accessible from both the front and the rear by narrow laneways. Carlton is also the epicenter of Italian cuisine and community within the city of Melbourne.

The Kelly’s bought two of these Victorian townhouses in Carlton with a plan to combine the two lots, demolish the additions built in the 1950's and 1970's, restore the original heritage streetfront, and add a new addition to the rear.

Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit

An important aspect of the architectural project was to maintain the 'layers' of history that had made their mark over the decades on the property whilst also moulding the house around Michael and Angela's culinary passion.

The house runs from West to East but in order to maximise the play of light within the space the design was divided into northern and southern zones.

The new volume of the extension is located in the southern zone, overlooking a garden to the north to ensure that the low winter sun has access to the interior of the house.

Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit

The house is divided into old and new with the front of the house restored to its original heritage style.

The first floor addition at the back of the property twists to run north-south instead of east-west and overhangs the garden to form a shaded courtyard. To maintain the conceptual foundation of the design this twist has its central axis in the kitchen space.

With a dedication to the philosophy of sustainable development, all the bricks from the buildings that were demolished were recovered, cleaned and organized by hand by the Kelly’s, to be recycled and reused in the new construction.

Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit

Despite having to demolish part of the northern house to make room for a garden, the perimeter walls at the edge of the site were deliberately kept free from any major modifications.

Those walls defined the history of the house, different renovations over time represented in the layers of bricks in a wall.

Along with this, the new construction highlights the recycled bricks as a show of respect to the house's historical value.

Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit
Canning Street House
© Willem-Dirk Du Toit

The Kellys maintain a very active social life, one that extends to their neighbours and so it became important that the garden open directly onto the back laneway becoming an extension of the streetscape.

This sense of community, food and respect for history permeates the home and provides a rich space for its inhabitants.


Canning Street House
Section 01
Canning Street House
Section 02
Canning Street House
North Elevation
Canning Street House
West Elevation


Canning Street House
Ground Floor Plan
Canning Street House
1st Floor Plan
Canning Street House
Site Plan