Carlton Cottage
CARLTON COTTAGE
Lovell Burton Architecture
ARCHITECTS
Lovell Burton Architecture
ARCHITECT
Stephanie Burton, Joseph Lovell
BUILDER
Cale Peters Construction
PHOTOGRAPHS
Rory Gardiner
AREA
150 m²
YEAR
2024
LOCATION
Carlton, Australia
CATEGORY
Houses
English description provided by the architects.
Carlton Cottage sought to re-imagine a tired single storey house on a small allotment into a new home for our young family.
We resolved to address practical issues relating to water management, light quality, and thermal performance while taking cues from the existing cottage to arrange the home within its historical context.
Intertwined with this pragmatism was an approach based on adaptability, regeneration, and an emphasis on spatial quality over material excesses.
The site is situated at a low point of Carlton, in what would have been a natural water course that fed into the Yarra River.
The grain of European urbanisation is primarily working class, typified by migrant communities, and consists of an eclectic mix of attached single dwellings.
The site itself is characterised by Canning St, revegetated as part of the MCC urban forest strategy, and a rear laneway that is defined by an old hat factory, presenting the site with two distinct interfaces.
A mature river gum on the adjacent property creates a sheltered canopy over the site. The existing cottage had been modified over time and was dark and dank.
The site is arranged loosely into 12 squares. The existing cottage was modified into a quadrant with kids' beds, a flexible study, and wet areas.
The new addition, loosely arranged over 4 squares with kitchen and living zones, and a flexible bedroom and bathroom on the mezzanine above.
A courtyard separates the two areas, providing the lungs to the dwelling that assist with passively cooling the home through the summer.
The rear garden is organised into a third quadrant, comprising a heavily gardened area for screening, a terrace, a play space, and outdoor dining.
A series a pivot doors to the rear allows the façade to be manipulated between enclosure and openness.
Relating to the overarching idea of a loose demarcation of spaces that is intended to adapt with our family and enables the home to be rearranged according to the seasons.
In the section, the floor plane gently steps down the site to subtly demarcate zones, while a large skillion roof, acting in concert with the existing gable, encloses the new addition.
The skillion assists in modifying the light quality of the site, redirects water for harvesting, and nestles the new addition in with the surrounding built form.
Internally, the skillion ceiling draws the eye upwards to frame the sky, while bringing soft light into spaces below. A circular skylight frames the upper canopy of the river gum.
In part, material selection was based on performance and upcycling. The existing slab under the cottage was removed and replaced with a lightweight framed floor to manage subfloor ventilation and moisture.
The new timber floor consists of repurposed locally sourced hardwood framing. The existing bricks from the demolished lean-to were repurposed for new walls.
A discarded stone slab from the Pilbara was used for the benchtops. The kitchen, treated as a new piece of furniture, consists of a solid walnut designed to patina over time.
In contrast to the business and grit of the surrounding streetscapes, Carlton Cottage seeks to create a repairing space.
One that will adapt to the unknowns of raising children, while facilitating fluid and evolving relationships with each other, the community, and the environment.
