57 Tivoli Road
The house, 57 Tivoli Road, is situated on a corner block in the inner city Melbourne suburb of South Yarra.
Formally one of a series of attached row houses of disparate & eclectic housing styles, the exposed corner site meant a protective building was required for both visual and acoustic privacy, and the design seeks to create an enclosed shelter for the occupants, as well as forming an architectural bookend to the procession of houses which precede it.
The narrow & sloping corner site presented several architectural opportunities, not least the pragmatic requirement to build across the full width of the block and in doing so opening the full length of the site to become one singular architectural from.
The zig zag shape allows a six metre-long window in the living room slides open over views of the city. The interior is primarily fitted out in wood, with a staircase twisting through the space and guest bedrooms clad floor to ceiling in timber.
To enhance the building’s reading as a single object, a single external material was chosen – bluestone (basalt). The bluestone was selected for its durability and ability to age kindly, while being sourced locally allowed the construction costs to be lowered.
In order to create movement in the external faces, a paneling technique was developed using the diamond sawn bluestone in varying thickness and panel widths – the “chattered” effect the stone created meant we could push the limit of residential architecture to a more brutal, minimal built form.
To soften the expansive use of bluestone, the clients’ love of timber was expressed within – where externally the bluestone dominates, so too does the timber internally.
The building utilizes Spotted gum flooring throughout, with feature bunk rooms for occasional visitors clad floor to ceiling, and a cranked Blackwood stair in the two storey entrance space that serves as a modern reference to the traditional spiral staircase.
Internal light courts were used to filter light throughout the site, enclosed external courtyards used to incorporate landscaping, both maintaining privacy and connection to the exterior conditions.
A six metre sliding window was employed to convert the living area into a large entertaining terrace, borrowing views to the city in order to instill a spaciousness uncommon in small inner city sites.
