Description

a bold experiment in residential architecture, located in South Melbourne, Lola’s House showcases how a four-level residence on a compact 297-square-metre site can feel expansive rather than condensed within an inner-city context.

Through considered planning, massing, and spatial organisation, the design prioritises natural light and visual connection. Voids between floor levels draw light from the roof lantern down to the basement, creating a continuous sense of openness throughout the home.

All of the windows have been strategically placed to frame views of the surrounding trees, connecting interior spaces with their external natural context and offering moments of reprieve from living in a dense urban area of Melbourne.

The interior design balances a refined, bespoke finish with a restrained, minimalist language, characterised by the absence of cabinet and cupboard handles, trimless frames to all services, and custom floor-to-ceiling doors.

A carefully considered material palette reinforces this approach, combining textured stone and concrete with moments of warmth introduced through the use of upcycled wharf timber. This integration of reclaimed material not only enriches the tactile quality of the interiors but also reflects a broader consideration of the environmental impact of the building industry.

What's On

Explore the house via self-guided tour with timed entry. Visitors will have full access throughout the house, including the rooftop terrace, enabling people to come in and view the architectural resolution of the house, as well as the detail of the interior design.

Claire Sisson will be on hand to answer any questions on the day.

Maggie Edmond and Claire Sisson will host a panel discussion where they talk about their collaboration on the design and their work together in general, allowing visitors to ask questions.

There will also be a photo essay exhibition by John Gollings, creating a journey through the house. The space will be fitted out as a gallery experience, guiding visitors through stages of his career across eleven themes, with works available for purchase on the day.

In Collaboration With:

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  Claire Sisson

  Claire Sisson completed a Diploma of Building Design and Drafting at RMIT University in 2003 and a Bachelor of Design (Interior) with Honours at RMIT University in 2007. She has worked continuously in the industry since graduation and recently completed a Master of Architecture at the University of Melbourne.
  
  She was awarded the Peddle Thorp Student Prize in 2006 and gained early professional experience at Peddle Thorp and Metier 3, working within interior architecture teams at medium-sized practices. She later moved to a boutique building design studio, where her focus shifted toward architecture. During her Master of Architecture, she undertook a vocational placement with NMBW.
  
  Since 2013, Claire Sisson has maintained a collaborative working relationship with Maggie Edmond, contributing to projects within the Edmond & Corrigan office. Lola’s House represents her first completed residential project, developed with design guidance and in association with Maggie Edmond.

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  Maggie Edmond

  Maggie Edmond graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Architecture Degree. She commenced the architectural practice of Edmond & Corrigan Pty. Ltd. with Peter Corrigan in 1975. Since then, the practice has produced a significant number of residential, institutional, educational and commercial buildings which have engaged with the Australian psyche and influenced a whole generation of architects.
  
  Edmond & Corrigan Pty. Ltd. have won numerous State and National Architectural Design Awards, including the national Walter Burley Griffin Urban Design Award for the RMIT University Building 8 on Swanston Street Melbourne. In 1995 Oxford University Press published a monograph, “Cities of Hope” on the work of the office. This was followed by “Cities of Hope Re-visited”, published by Thames and Hudson in 2015.
  
  Maggie Edmond is a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and in 2015 was awarded an honorary doctorate in Architecture by the University of Melbourne. She has served as a member of the Zoological Board of Victoria, the State Film Centre Council, the Deakin University Council and the AIA National Council. Between 2003 and 2006 she was a Deputy Chancellor of the Deakin University. In 2024 she was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia.
  
  In 2023 Maggie Edmond was retrospectively awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal to accompany the Gold Medal awarded to the late Peter Corrigan in 2003. Her passion for architecture continues as does her architecture practice in Melbourne.

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  John Gollings

  John Gollings holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from RMIT University and an Honorary Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Architects. He is Adjunct Professor, School of Media and Communications, RMIT University.
  
  He works in the Asia-Pacific region as an architectural photographer, much of the work involving long-term cultural projects especially in India, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Libya and New Guinea. He specialises in the documentation of cities, old and new, often from the air. He has had a particular interest in the cyclic fires and floods that characterise the Australian landscape and he documents these with aerial photography. He was co-creative director of the Venice Architectural Biennale in 2010.
  
  Books include two volumes of _New Australia Style _published by Thames & Hudson; City of Victory, Aperture; and Kashgar, Oasis City on China’s Old Silk Road, Frances Lincoln Limited. In 2012 Thames & Hudson published Beautiful Ugly, a monograph of his contemporary architectural photography.
  
  His work is held in national and international collections including: Asia Society, New York; Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal; Australian National Gallery, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; National Portrait Gallery, Canberra; Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne; State Library of Queensland, Brisbane; Janet Holmes á Court Collection, Cowaramup; Gold Coast City Gallery, Surfers Paradise; Rockhampton Art Gallery, Rockhampton; and the National Library of Australia, Canberra.
  
  The Kaladham Museum in Karnataka, India was built by the Jindal Steel Company to house John’s 40 years of work documenting the Hampi Ruins.
  
  His work has recently been included in exhibitions at the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney; Gold Coast City Gallery, Surfers Paradise; Immigration Museum, Melbourne; Fremantle Arts Centre, Perth; and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. In 2013, McClelland Gallery exhibited Aftermath, Gollings’ bushfire series from Black Saturday.
  
  Gollings' retrospective, A History of the Built World , opened at the Monash Gallery of Art in 2018 and is now showing through India. His documentation of 'Nawala Rock Art, A Spirit of Place', was at Heide Gallery of Modern Art in 2019
  
  He has twice received the Australian Institute of Architects Presidents Prize and in 2013 he was awarded the inaugural William J. Mitchell International Committee Prize by the Australian Institute of Architects.
  In 2016 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for ‘significant service to photography through the documentation of iconic architectural landmarks in Australia and the Asia Pacific region’