Description

Open House Melbourne is relaunching the much-loved Naked Architect Series!

Are you looking to renovate or build a new home and have considered using an architect but don’t know where to start? The best way to truly appreciate the benefits of engaging an architect is to hear straight from the architects and clients themselves in the homes they’ve created together.

The Naked Architect arms consumers with in-depth knowledge about working with an architect on a residential renovation and/or new build. Hear about the architect/client experience of the design process and working together.

The Rexroth Mannasmann Collective and their client invite you to step inside the doors of their project – dark house. Book your spot to be a part of our live audience for the filming of the next episode of The Naked Architect!

The Project

dark house is a collaboration wherein the clients’ engagement enabled design. Initiated in 2011, the project was staged across more than ten years, with the final stages completed in 2023. Responding to an inner city brief which respects the surrounding area's garden-set suburban villa typology, the design included a restoration of the existing dilapidated building fabric, sustainability considerations and the need to flexibly accommodate the family requirements (including a dance and office) at their present life stage and to the future.

The Practice

The Rexroth Mannasmann Collective is an architectural studio based on the east bank of the Merri Creek on Wurundjeri land in Northcote. The Collective consists of three friends, Brenton, Giles and Kirsty and was established in 2003.

Their work is predominantly residential but has also included institutional works, exhibition curation and imagined fragments of Australian and European cities.

The Collective employs a collaborative approach which results in stylistically varied outcomes. The work can be contextual, rich and decorative, or quieter and more modest. Rexroth incorporates the clients’ voice and an awareness of urban and social histories to inform architectural responses.

The Naked Architect is an initiative of Open House Melbourne, with support from the Architects Registration Board of Victoria and in association with ArchiTeam.

Watch old episodes of The Naked Architect here!