Award-winning inner-city sanctuary gives a nod to the ’80s

Six Ways House is named after a multiple-road intersection at its front door in Fitzroy North. The home probably sets a record for the number of neighbours who stroll past – out of curiosity as much as convenience.

Located in a heritage street that is lined with period Victorian homes, the building designed by architects Kennedy Nolan responds to the past while creating a contemporary home.

Architectural details of the grey-toned brick construction feature mirror-backed steel blades rather than ornate lacework.Credit: Derek Swalwell

“We were fortunate to at least work with a site that came with a double frontage, allowing us space to create a private northern garden,” says architect Patrick Kennedy, a director of the practice.

Recipient of both national and state awards from the Australian Institute of Architects, Six Ways House includes a number of ways to navigate the site.

The brief included the desire to “lock up and leave”.Credit: Derek Swalwell

Designed for a couple whose brief sought an independent wing for visiting guests, Kennedy Nolan’s initial design responded to neighbouring Victorian houses.

Like those period terraces, the home is elongated. But the main terraced area is to the north, part of a secluded garden, rather than overlooking the street as is usual in the terrace format.

“There’s subtle references to the Victorian typology, but it’s also a response to infill housing in our inner suburbs,” Kennedy says.

Constructed in grey-toned brick, architectural detail is expressed with mirror-backed steel blades rather than ornate lacework.

“It’s a busy intersection, so we wanted to distort the views from within as much as ‘blur’ the outlook for those passing by,” Kennedy says, pointing to distorted images of established gum trees at the centre of the intersection. Instead of a series of overlooking windows and balconies, those sitting around the dining table on the south-eastern corner are presented with a diorama.

As the brief included a desire to “lock up and leave”, the house was conceived to be low-maintenance, with flexibility around the use of space.

Two bedrooms, including the main, are located on the ground floor, either side of the courtyard-style front entrance. An internal staircase separates those bedrooms, and there’s an external rear staircase too, which leads to the northern terrace, creating direct access to the kitchen and dining area.

The home, like neighbouring period terraces, is elongated.Credit: Derek Swalwell

“Our client loves gardening and spends some of her time in the outback,” Kennedy says, indicating a variety of succulents and the abstract art on the neighbour’s adjoining brick walls that capture some of the desert scenes.

Although the 1980s house that used to be on the site had passed its use-by date, the clients had warmed to its colour palette and textures, having lived there for several years. So, for the new house, Kennedy Nolan provided warm and earthy hues, with eucalypt-painted timber walls thoughtfully juxtaposed with the exposed grey brick walls. Timber joinery and pale grey granite floors in the kitchen and living areas respond to the eucalypts in the street and memories of the ’80s house.

The neighbour’s brick wall and the variety of succulents evoke desert scenes.Credit: Derek Swalwell

“We eliminated the use of plaster and walls and tried to make the house as thermally comfortable as possible, something that we couldn’t have achieved with the original house,” Kennedy says.

Mindful of the desire for flexibility, the architects included spaces that could be used for several purposes. A large home office to the north has its own entrance; a formal living area on the first floor can be used in various ways (it’s now occupied by a grand piano); and between the kitchen and this living area, the corridor widens to include a banquette seat that might be useful as a place to sleep or simply read a book.

Receiving a national architecture award requires pushing boundaries and coming up with ideas that challenge both convention and traditional design solutions, in terms of how a site is used and how it addresses the location.

Six Ways House shows what can be achieved when ideas are successfully translated into something that offers much more. Its design responds to client needs as much as it pushes the envelope.

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