Source : THE AGE NEWS
Transforming a Victorian-era glasshouse into a stand-alone kitchen, dining and living area without breaking something, is no mean feat.
Concealed behind a high fence and originally on a small portion of a much larger heritage estate, the property in Melbourne’s south-east would once have been reached via a pebbled path by horse and carriage.
The pavilion dates to the 1890s.Credit: Rory Gardiner
“There’s a few plots on this estate that show the hallmarks of the past, be they the stables in the backyard of one house or, in this instance, a greenhouse,” says architect Danielle Peck, co-director of Architecture Associates, who worked closely with her life and business partner, architect Sam Hunt.
Abandoned for several years, the glasshouse was carefully restored by heritage architect David Wixted well before this more recent incarnation. Baracco + Wright Architects had also left its indelible mark, creating a detached glazed two-level bedroom wing on the site that frames the pavilion.
“The pavilion dates to the 1890s,” says Peck, referring to photos that show the greenhouse pavilion full of concrete troughs filled with plants.
Pivotal to the design is the insertion of an elongated blackbutt-clad pod (12 metres in length and six metres in width) that sits snugly below the pavilion’s hip-shaped roof.Credit: Rory Gardiner
Unlike most traditional architectural briefs that require direct connections to areas such as bedrooms, here the brief was to allow the structure to be self-contained – a kitchen, dining and living area required to greet the elements.
Apart from replacing the roof with a special translucent high-performance glass there are perforated ceiling panels in one section, with only the slightest interventions having been made elsewhere – a couple of fine steel cords that span two trusses that allow for a screen to show films (one of the owners is a writer for film and television).
Architecture Associates also retained the original Villeroy & Boch tiles, at least the “carpet” of tiles that remained, and buffed up the timber floors.
A large sliding panel, complete with an abstract painting, moves to conceal the kitchen.Credit: Rory Gardiner
Pivotal to the design is the insertion of an elongated blackbutt-clad pod (12 metres in length and six metres in width) that sits snugly below the pavilion’s hip-shaped roof.
“Our clients wanted a contemporary kitchen and living areas and, importantly, a place to display their art,” says Beck, who worked with gallery Chapman & Bailey on this front, and whose practice is enmeshed in Victoria’s visual arts sector.
Peck and Hunt were also fortunate their clients were not only open to fresh ideas but different approaches that challenged usual renovation styles (think of a glass box on the back of a period home).
“When we suggested the oven would fit better at one end of the pod, they warmed to the idea immediately,” says Peck, who feels clients like these are rare to find.
Having a kitchen pantry that extends into a dining area also breaks with tradition.
The architects also adeptly responded to a structure that offered flexibly and one which could easily “morph” into something else depending on the occasion.
A large sliding panel, for example, complete with an abstract painting, moves to conceal the kitchen. Alternatively, cupboards accessed from the dining area reveal everything from a bar to general storage. The kitchen can be easily left open on both sides with unimpeded views of established banana plants, bearing flowers at certain times of the year.
The central pod was also conceived as a backdrop to display art.Credit: Rory Gardiner
One of the drawbacks of wanting to display art against a glass wall was also addressed with customised steel frames devised by Chapman & Bailey that allow each work to be displayed independently of a glass wall. Obviously, the central pod was also conceived as a backdrop to display art.
Given the owners’ love of films, the dining table is often moved to one side of the space with loose chairs allowing for friends to enjoy a night’s entertainment on the big screen rather than be glued to a television (there isn’t one to be found here).
There’s a simple timber bench suspended from the ceiling, aligned to the mullions set into the glazed windows.Credit: Rory Gardiner
And while most living in a minimal space may find it difficult to conceal smaller objects, here, there are kick/skirting boards at the base of the glass walls that allow for additional storage. Rather than a clunky breakfast table, there’s a simple timber bench suspended from the ceiling, aligned to the mullions set into the glazed windows.
“You can still read the pavilion’s history as a greenhouse but it’s now another part of the bigger picture, one that can be traced to what was then a substantial heritage estate,” adds Peck.
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