Build Less, Give More - Brick and Gable House by Breathe Architecture

The design manages to incorporate the clients’ love of modernism and Scandinavian design.

The clients had approached Breathe and the architects had completed a schematic design for a large home before the opportunity arose for the clients to live overseas for a year. When they returned, the experience of living in a small inner-city Copenhagen apartment gave them a renewed perspective on their priorities and how much space was actually necessary. ‘We respected this decision tremendously, and we started schematic design over with brief and budget and brief cut in half’, says architect Madeline Sewall, project lead on the Brick and Gable House. ‘We prioritised updating the kitchen, living and dining and left the front portion of the terrace house and upstairs as is, with the original Victorian character intact.’

The original home, located in the historic inner Melbourne suburb of Port Melbourne, was heritage listed, so the façade was unchanged in the new design, while a new brick studio addresses the street at the rear of the property. ‘The project is about making simple moves to improve the functionality for the family that lives there, while maintaining and celebrating the original character’, says Madeline. The quiet street populated by roller doors and outbuildings provided the impetus for a design that is robust and informal, tying the new addition into its context.

The heritage façade was unchanged in the new design, while a new brick studio addresses the street at the rear of the property.

‘The project is about making simple moves to improve the functionality for the family that lives there, while maintaining and celebrating the original character’.

Recycled brickwork is combined with Australian blackbutt timber veneer joinery and recycled Tasmanian oak flooring.

‘I think the outcome is warm and textural home that feels lived in for much longer than it has been’.

‘We focused on a big, functional centre island with a higher servery ledge, so family could gather around while they are cooking’.

Breathe Architecture have a long-standing professional relationship with Fisher & Paykel.

Breathe Architecture have a long-standing professional relationship with Fisher & Paykel, who supplied all the appliances for the groundbreaking Nightingale Housing developments. ‘Fisher & Paykel believe in what we are trying to deliver and what is important to us, and so have been a great partner to us on the Nightingale projects’, says Madeline. ‘In the Brick and Gable House, they helped us to specify a collection of appliances that met the clients’ needs and were as efficient as possible.’ Induction cooking avoids the use of fossil fuels, running instead on greener power, while a DishDrawer allows smaller loads of dishes to be run, using less water. Madeline explains that the DishDrawer was also specified for ergonomics, as one of the clients has a sensitive back.

‘Fisher & Paykel believe in what we are trying to deliver and what is important to us, and so have been a great partner to us on the Nightingale projects’.

The Fisher & Paykel fridge and DishDrawer are integrated into the cabinetry allowing the timber to shine and warm the space.

When the details are taken care of and the clients’ lifestyle informs the design, a small space is enough.

Breathe have shown yet again that it is possible to design and build better homes.