Small Moves House

By Mitsuori Architects

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When our clients bought this freestanding Edwardian home in inner city Northcote, the project began with them asking us an important question – are the minor changes we want to make sufficient for this to be an architectural project? The house already had a relatively new extension that would not be demolished or significantly extended, yet it required a complete transformation to meet the client’s brief and aspirations. We went in search of small moves able to redefine the living spaces of this home.

The Big Impact of Small Moves

The project began with testing. A series of options, each with varying degrees of modification to the existing building, were explored collaboratively with our client. During this process, the floor plan was ‘unlocked’ by the transformation of a small shadowed courtyard in the middle of the house into a vibrant sky lit family dining room. This single move completely changed the feel of the surrounding spaces and how they worked together.

The new glazed dining room gave us space to incorporate a generous cooks kitchen and lounge nook into the existing floor plate. A new wall of timber joinery conceals the existing structure and simultaneously addresses both the dining and the lounge room. Hidden glazing incorporated into the joinery unit and a concealed sliding door allows the rooms to be acoustically separated but remain visually connected.

Just a few small moves transformed the existing compartmentalised rooms into a series of joyful, light filled living spaces fit for a growing family.

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Small Moves House

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Mitsuori Architects is a design led practice focused on the creation of enduring and innovative architecture that is uniquely reflective of its place, environment and the people that inhabit it.

Founded in 2008 by Matthew Murfett & Melissa Lim, our practice directors bring together large-scale project experience and technical expertise with the personalised service and attention to detail of a small boutique design practice. Both have worked with world renowned architectural practices on major cultural, commercial, residential and interior design projects in Australia, UK, Europe and the USA. Their departure from iconic city scale projects was inspired by a desire to explore the craft of architecture on a personal scale, and create buildings that are respectful of the past, reflective of the present and robust for the future.

At its core we believe the design process is a journey of discovery, translation and creation. Ours is a collaborative journey shared openly with our clients, design team, specialist fabricators and builders. We focus on producing well designed and executed architectural outcomes delivered by an experienced and cohesive team.

We believe environmentally and socially sustainable design are fundamental to the design of buildings and urban spaces. From the outset, these values influence site response, building orientation/configuration, selection of products, materials and technologies, and ultimately the technical resolution of structure and envelope.

At Mitsuori, we celebrate how architecture can change our experience of a place and influence how we shape our environment.