Description

Set within a lively pedestrian laneway in Carlton North, Stables House is a reimagined service building with more than a century of layered history.

Originally constructed around 1900 as part of St Elmo—a private hospital later converted to a residence—the rear structure functioned as a laundry, storage and stables. It was never ornamental; it was built to work, defined by boundary walls, solid masonry and a direct relationship to the street.

Across the decades the building continually adapted, becoming a metal workshop, boxing gym and catering store, each use leaving traces that contributed to its raw character.

The current project transforms the former hay store and undercroft into a home for a long-connected retired couple, retaining the robust shell while inserting a new internal layer for living. The perimeter form and original openings remain legible, allowing the laneway context and corner condition to read as they always have. A courtyard carved from the plan bleeds into the lane, while a sunken kitchen and dining space negotiates low existing ceilings to create unexpected volume. Former storage areas accessed from the street now contain bedrooms, recalling their working past.

Stables House demonstrates how adaptive reuse can retain grit and memory while enabling contemporary occupation, embedding a new domestic life within an unapologetically utilitarian fabric.

What's On

Visitors will be able to walk through the laneway, courtyard and interior spaces. Key moments include the sunken kitchen and dining area, where low existing ceilings are transformed into generous volume, and bedrooms inserted within former open storage accessed from the street.

Children's Activities

Children are welcome to explore the laneway edge and courtyard with their families.