Natural light floods the interiors of this freshly-renovated Victorian cottage, now a new urban sanctuary for the client in a very busy part of Melbourne.

Childhood friends, Jane Merrylees of Merrylees Architecture and Georgiana Quinn of Quinn Architecture were joint architects for the ‘Ridgeway House’ alteration and addition project, and were engaged by the client to create a highly functional building where uses could be concealed in order to maintain the feelings of peace and calm.

The result is a sculptural renovation of the original weatherboard Victorian cottage that is flooded with natural light and arranged in a series of flexible spaces that can solve a variety of use requirements for the client.

The brightness of the home is a feature and is provided mostly through the glazed gable end at the back of the home which was manufactured by AWS, and a series of EnergiLite, Velux and custom-designed skylights from Elite Windows and Doors. The glazing also integrates with a decorative and functional black-painted pine shade structure, modelled to provide optimal solar penetration year-round for the double height interior living space.

The house was subject to a heritage overlay and as such its street elevation was tastefully restored. Photography by Tom Ross

The Ridgeway House incorporates some sustainability features such as breezeways and ceiling fans for promoting ventilation and has a heavy dose of thermal mass and additional insulation to aid temperature and acoustic comfort for the occupants.

Light floods in from the glazed gable at the back of the house and onto the interior concrete slab. Photography by Tom Ross

Custom skylights have been punched out of the gable roof to provide natural light to the north/south-oriented building. Photography by Tom Ross

{^image|(width)600|(height)424|(url)~/getattachment/Projects/Residential-Single/A-sculptural-renovation-of-a-Victorian-home-brings/A_Plan-Ground_Marketing_Plot-1.jpg.aspx?width=600&height=424|(mouseoverheight)724|(originalwidth)1024|(align)middle|(behavior)hover|(originalheight)724|(vspace)10|(alt)A_Plan-Ground_Marketing_Plot-1.jpg|(mouseoverwidth)1024|(sizetourl)True|(tooltip)A_Plan-Ground_Marketing_Plot-1.jpg|(hspace)10^}
The ground floor consists of a bedroom and bath inside the original cottage, a study and additional toilet (middle plan) and the kitchen and living space (back of house)

{^image|(width)600|(height)424|(url)~/getattachment/Projects/Residential-Single/A-sculptural-renovation-of-a-Victorian-home-brings/A_Plan-First_Marketing_Plot-1.jpg.aspx|(mouseoverheight)724|(originalwidth)1024|(align)middle|(behavior)hover|(originalheight)724|(vspace)10|(alt)A_Plan-First_Marketing_Plot-1.jpg|(mouseoverwidth)1024|(sizetourl)False|(tooltip)A_Plan-First_Marketing_Plot-1.jpg|(hspace)10^}
A bathroom and bedroom make up the majority of the first floor and lead to an additional living area which overlooks the void at the back of the house

PRODUCTS

ROOFING
BLUESCOPE STEEL, COLORBOND STEEL IN IN COLOUR MONUMENT IN THE PROFILE LYSAGHT CUSTOM ORB

EXTERNAL WALLS
TIMBER WEATHERBOARDS WITH DULUX PAINT FINISH

GLAZING
ARCHITECTURAL WINDOW SYSTEMS

INTERIOR DESIGN

FEATURE LIGHTING
INLITE

SKYLIGHTS
ELITE WINDOWS AND DOORS, ENERGILITE, VELUX AND CUSTOM

BATHROOM AND ENSUITE TILES
SIGNORINO TILE GALLERY

ROYAL OAK FLOORBOARDS
HARPER & SANDILANDS

CABINETRY
LAMINEX, CRYSTAL GLOSS

VENEER
ELTON GROUP, EVENEER TIMBER VENEER