James Street Residence, Richmond

Perched on a hill in Richmond, the James Street Residence is a multi-generational, multicultural family home. The building is made from two distinct parts – a restoration of the existing period home which revitalises one of the first examples of a kit home in Australia and a modern extension. Together the two create a cross section through architectural history along James Street. The aim was to have the best of both worlds – the heritage values of the site combined with an exaggeration of the possibility of the future.

Each component creates its own distinct vernacular. The period building visibly restores, renovates and brings back from the brink of demolition the heritage workers cottage and intact outhouse. Most clients and architects would have looked at the existing building with despair but for this project the site and house have been turned into a massive opportunity to salvage a piece of history and the lifestyle it represents. Given the state of the existing building, it was a full resurrection. The redesign reinstated the architectural elements of the veranda, French doors and timber weather boards. The internal structure and frame was rebuilt and re-straightened creating a new internal skin within the weathered existing skin. The new internal plan respects all

existing external openings. The interiors continued the external detailing and materiality with timber lined rooms and joinery and modern reinterpretations of decorative period details.

In contrast, the new extension is a two-story sculptural form that twists from a single point to create setbacks and overhangs which comply with practical planning requirements and tracks the sun to create shade for the ground level and courtyard space. The new cantilevered upper level focuses the master suite towards the city skyline – a sightline that would have been otherwise obscured by neighbouring buildings. The building uses an architectural language of metal and mirrored glass expressed verticality with crisp detail.

The two are connected by a glazed link which creates a clear visual separation from the street emphasising which is from the past and which is from the present. Internally, this also allows the occupant to stand in between the 19^th and 21^st century, unmistakably identifying each in direct contrast. The house is surrounded by gardens and the link also allows for verdant moments to come into the core of the building.