Kennedy Nolan Architects

Caroline House

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell

CAROLINE HOUSE

Kennedy Nolan Architects

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Patrick Kennedy and Rachel Nolan

COLLABORATORS
Overend Constructions

LANDSCAPE
Amanda Oliver Gardens

DESIGN TEAM
Adriana Hanna, Dominic Wells

PHOTOGRAPHS
Derek Swalwell

ENGINEERING
Webb Consult

AREA
315 m²

YEAR
2018

LOCATION
Melbourne, Australia

CATEGORY
House Interiors, Extension

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell

Text description provided by architect.

This project is an alteration and addition to a weatherboard Edwardian house in inner Melbourne.

We restored and re-imagined the existing house and added a pavilion which is separated from the original building by an internal courtyard containing a swimming pool.

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell

Although the brief for the project does not challenge the paradigm of the family house in terms of accommodation requirements, our Clients wanted this accommodation to be delivered in an expressive, engaging and memorable fashion.

The most fundamental element of the brief is probably the swimming pool.

The challenge of integrating swimming pools into domestic environments increases every year with new regulations which break down the immediacy of proximity to water.

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell

Our solution is a centralised pool zone which incorporates a pool gate in the facade of the building.

The pool deliberately challenges regular notions – it is round, it is compact, it is deep, it is dark. The pool is imagined for year-round use, swimming in summer, a dark pond reflecting the facade in winter.

The proximity of water to the interior is immediate and dramatic with the sense that the edge of the building plunges into a deep pool.These effects are deliberate and aspire to create a setting which is poetic and evocative.

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell

Without being specific – an environment redolent of things in our city and in our imagination.

The design approach of the Caroline House is best characterised by an eccentric formal quality which accommodates the complex program of a family home efficiently and comfortably.

Functional aspects are not compromised by the playful forms - the courtyard is able to fulfil the conventional requirements of passive solar design: cross ventilation, north orientation to rear rooms and multiple garden aspects.

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell

The inclusion of a swimming pool in the courtyard augments its function, having a decorative presence all year round, but also providing evaporative cooling effects in summer.

The principle curved wall allows for a layered and nuanced interior and a dramatic and compelling exterior space.

The first floor is monolithically clad in charred timber as a counterpoint to the abstracted planes of white brickwork and includes a balcony using the principles of the Jali – a sequestered zone with veiled views.

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell

A meticulous and complete approach to the interior allies old rooms to the new and results in a narrative experience which provides moments of delight and discovery within a singular aesthetic.

This architecture is unexpected formally and visually, playfully referencing many things in our collective memory whilst avoiding the specific so that new memories can be created.

Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell
Caroline House
© Derek Swalwell


Caroline House
Caroline House
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Caroline House
Elevation
Caroline House
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Kennedy Nolan Architects
T +61 3 94158971
Kennedy Nolan Architects
61 Victoria St, Fitzroy VIC 3065, Australia