Questioning the Status Quo - One Mani House by Mani Architecture

Fitzroy North, VIC, Australia

One Mani House sees Mani Architecture implement a passion for efficient and considered design that questions the status quo.

The project arose from Mani Architecture’s frustration with the typical approach to design and development and desire to emphasise the value of architectural design. Leading by example, Mani Architecture acted as both client and architect to create an exemplar as a proposition to developers that showcases the powerful results of an approach that challenges the traditional typology. Located in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North, the home is a life-sized model for an inclusive approach, designed and built unencumbered by the typical client-developer-architect structure and chain of command. The resulting home sees ideas put into practice, bringing to life a vision for a more flexible and responsive approach residential design.

Externally, One Mani House questions the typical approach to cladding.

At the core of the design is a running vein of adaptability, seen and executed through a highly resolved aesthetic and space-conscious lens. Mani Architecture’s approach was to design for future use, with an anticipation of trending lifestyle patterns and usability. Elements of personality (designed to be customised by the home’s eventual inhabitants) are shown in elements such as the pink bathroom area. On its tight and size-restrictive site, affordability was key, and the project stands as a series of lessons, highlighting effective and efficient use of space.

Built over two storeys and just over 300 square metres in liveable floor space, the home encompasses four bedrooms, multiple bathrooms, built-in robes, joinery and custom furniture. Throughout the use of skylights were integrated to allow for an extension of the internal space and connect to a natural light source concurrently. Multiple entries suggest flexibility of use by multiple family tenancies or the potential for Airbnb short-stay leasing, exemplifying the design team’s attention to the need for contemporary housing to respond an array of potential outcomes.

Externally, One Mani House questions the typical approach to cladding. While there is a nod to the traditional cottage weatherboard aesthetic, layered timber shingles instantly deviate from this traditional cladding, injecting a sense a curiosity in the execution and adding variation to the streetscape.

Bravely proposing a forward-looking model for the family home, Mani Architecture encourage a series of spatial lessons and solutions to tight efficiencies, through a series of adaptable and interestingly-carved volumes. Bringing together local makers, artisans and an innovative architectural thinking, Mani House proposes a more considered residential typology.

The resulting home sees ideas put into practice, bringing to life a vision for a more flexible and responsive approach residential design.

Bringing together local makers, artisans and an innovative architectural thinking, Mani House proposes a more considered residential typology.