Description

LLDS Architects has re-conceptualised the Victorian terrace typology in response to the existing urban context to create a compact inner-city house in Melbourne, Australia.

Sited on a narrow plot orientated east-west, 22 metres long and 4.6 metres wide, the main design move was to elevate the ground and form a roof garden to address the lack of garden spaces. The brown roof supports local ecology in an urban context. Below the free-form timber structure is a hall-like room with a kitchen, dining room, and entrance veranda reminiscent of the neighbourhood's large factory lofts and Victorian church halls. The highly textured concrete internal wall provides thermal mass and improves the dining room's acoustics by reducing the flutter echo effect caused by the parallel boundary walls.

Northcote House has been recognised for its innovative approach in sustainability, interior design and residential design within an urban context, winning awards throughout 2024, in particular the Australian Institute of Architects (Victoria Chapter) Sustainability Award, the Australian Interior Design Awards for Residential Design—including the Best of State Award and the Premier Award, the Australian Timber Design Award for the residential fitout and Dezeen's Urban House of the Year.

What's On

Visitors will have full access throughout the house, including the rooftop terrace.

A small display of video footage, drawings and models will show the making of Northcote House. These will highlight how the majority of components were made locally at Power to Make’s digital fabrication workshop in Preston, such as the cross-laminated plywood roof beams and columns, the textured moulds for the off-form concrete, the plywood layered staircase and the galvanised steel tube trellis and balustrades which were made with the assistance of augmented reality.

Architects from LLDS will be on hand to answer any questions on the day.