Basser House is a renovation for a small family to an existing single-storey, double-fronted, red brick dwelling built in 1902 in the Edwardian style. The house is located in one of the oldest, most established suburbs of Melbourne.

Our brief was to straighten out the cramped living areas of the original house to accommodate large dinner parties while retaining a sense of intimacy when occupied by our clients alone. The addition was to make the most of a tight site and provide a stronger link to the under-utilised back garden.

Our design response seeks a thorough and intimate dialogue between the existing and new parts of the dwelling – the form, planning arrangement and details of the addition learn from characteristics of the original house, but improve upon them. Within this dialogue, the environmental parameters of the site are addressed via simple passive solar techniques that cost little but achieve a lot. A colour palette is substituted for one of texture – paint, glass, wallpaper, marble and laminate are combined in shades of white that create a richly tactile experience. The roofs and sculpted ceilings of the addition reveal these ideas in a holistic and exuberant way, honouring the qualities of the original house, permitting direct sunlight into, and natural ventilation through, the living spaces, and celebrating the activities taking place beneath.