Honeyman+Smith: Revival

Honeyman+Smith Architects completed in Melbourne a building to host two dwellings designed to appear as one, with material articulation echoing the character of the suburb and the adjacency to the industrial zone.

In this residential building designed by Honeyman+Smith Architects Neo Gothic inspirations drawn from the history of Hawthorn developed an aesthetic and form that aspires to promote design for context and local significance.

Challenging historic boundaries, the response seeks to engage the modern user as well as the existing fabric of the tight streets leading down to the Yarra river.

Local bricks, concrete and steel form the basis of the dramatic response to site conditions. Lobby spaces are connected by central staircases through six levels. Top levels open to far reaching views beyond. Lower levels connect with the street and leafy surrounds. The larger of the two residences has oversized vertical openings to enhance and engage with proportions of the scheme, the central axis connects to these openings throughout. The smaller scheme recesses large openings to connect with the skyline to the West and Port Phillip Bay to the South.

Circulation encourages interaction between users in light filled public areas, with private spaces connected through darker ante spaces. Joinery and a custom designed Lobby Chair embrace the vertical proportions of the fabric of this area of Melbourne.

The proximity to the heritage listed The Hawthorns (the house, initially known as The Falls, built in 1845 for James Pinnock) on Creswick Street inspired a reinterpretation of Gothic Revival.