The Kensington house is a compact down-sizer located in an inner-city backyard. With their kids grown, our clients wanted a compact home but didn’t really want to move. As long-term Kensington locals they wanted to retain connections with their neighbours, friends and locally-based business.

With rear laneway access and a relatively generous inner-city site, the existing block was a good candidate for subdivision. A feasibility study identified a footprint that directed the impact of the new dwelling towards adjacent garages and a substation rather than residential backyards. The final design carves 115sqm off the existing lot, buffered by a generous courtyard which is retained to serve the original house. The new dwelling squeezes two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living, dining, kitchen and a laundry over two levels. A north-west facing courtyard is accessed from the living spaces and the building is held off three boundaries allowing cross-ventilation and multiple views of sky and greenery throughout the house.

With a modest budget in mind, the floorplan is simple. Circulation is compressed around the double-height stair void that captures the morning sun and glimpses of the city skyline. Where possible the building opens up, providing dramatic raked ceilings to the upstairs rooms and a lofty double-height void over the dining table. Access to light and volume was critical to ensuring that this small space did not, in fact, feel small.

The opportunity to effectively double the density of a small residential block within 5km of Melbourne’s CBD without adversely impacting the streetscape, neighbours or community was challenging but highly rewarding. This type of small, backyard-infill development is a subtle and stealthy way to respond to housing demand in Melbourne. The house is an example of responsible, compact inner-city living and the result of innovative and forward thinking clients willing to experiment with the way they choose to live.

DESIGN TEAM

Tara Ward, Jessie Fowler

PHOTOGRAPHER

Tom Ross

RECOGNITION

Architeam Awards, Residential New, Commendation, 2020

Green Magazine, Kensington House, No Small Feat, Issue 75, March 2022

The Local Project, Idyllically Responsive – Kensington House by Fowler and Ward