By Poly Studio
The Layer House is a reconfiguration and renovation of a Victorian weatherboard house in Malvern that has been previously extended in the nineteen-eighties and again in the nineteen-nineties. The new insertions were conceived as being the latest layer in a quasi-archaeological process of accretion and change to the original house. As such a contemporary palette of materials and finishes has been used to mark the new: existing alongside and in contrast to both the original features and the remnant finishes from previous extensions and interventions.
The brief centred on improving the spatial and environmental performance of the house within the existing footprint as well as generally upgrading the finishes throughout the ground floor, with a rigorous attention to the environmental and health implications of product and material specifications. The key interventions included inserting a new En Suite bathroom and walk in robe connected to the master bedroom; replacing the kitchen; and, replacing a central bathroom and powder room with a new bathroom wrapped around a study nook that opens off the main circulation spine. The new bathroom consists of a series of separate but connected spaces for the toilet, bath and vanity which can be closed off or connected in different combinations as required, with a series of cavity sliding doors. Similarly, the study nook can be closed off with a set of bi-folding screen doors, perforated with a pattern of openings that are backlit when closed with abundant natural light from a pre-existing skylight.
year: 2015
builder: Estate Building & Renovating
photos: Shannon McGrath
Poly Studio is passionate about designing contemporary and sustainable buildings that utilise clever design to provide the most amenity from the least resources. Led by Daniel Wolkenberg, the studio has considerable experience working on a broad range of projects large and small, including residential, multi-residential and mixed-use typologies.
We believe that the best design solutions emerge from an intensive and open process of collaboration with our clients. Our approach embraces the emergence of unique and responsive solutions from the design process itself in a positive feedback loop that exceeds what may have been imagined at the outset.
Our design approach seeks to embed each building into its specific time and place, responding with sensitivity to the unique constraints and opportunities of each site. We view sustainability as both a necessary ethical imperative but also integral to the challenge of making each building ‘fit for purpose’, both now and into the future. We look for the synergies within the overlay of budget, sustainability and performance to achieve the best performance for the least cost.
Poly Studio is registered with the Architects Registration Board of Victoria. We are members of the Australian Institute of Architects, Architeam and the Australian Passive House Association.