The project: Lantern House
Architects: Timmins + Whyte Architects
Location: North Melbourne, Australia
space: 2088 sf
year: 2019
photos by: Peter Bennetts
Lantern House by Timmins + Whyte Architects
Timmins + Whyte Architects designed the Lantern House in Melbourne, Australia. This beautiful modern dwelling began as a dark Victorian home that has now been expanded to a fully modern residence offering just under 2,100 square feet of living space. Plus, it has a stunning backyard swimming pool. If you like what this studio has done with this Victorian home, check out their 10 Fold House project, and another renovation, this time an Edwardian cottage.
A small space with an open plan living space can be challenging to avoid cramped functionality. Our clients wanted to live, cook, gather, relax, read and socialize in one sunny space connected to the outdoors. In order to give definition to the functions, volumes and textures of the roof were used to create areas. The double-height void space connects the east-west landscaped spaces visually and physically, and the balcony area becomes part of the space for reading or speaking. The void is generous in size as the original heritage listed part of the house is at the front. But unlike the gloomy Victorian street address, the extension is a light, bright breathing space of calm.
The Lantern House extension is passively cooled in the summer with openable skylights, fans and louvered windows on the ground floor. Designed to play with light, the extension allows the space to be bathed in it, or retracted from it by remote controlled blinds on the upper floor expanses of glass. The project includes a large water bladder under the front porch to irrigate the gardens and solar panels on the roof for energy.
A shell of matte white veneer is molded onto a lightweight wood frame to protect the interior linings, windows and doors made of honey-coloured local wood from the weather. ⠀
The house is a series of designed spaces with views out from every angle. There is a sense of calm, like being in a day spa. It feels soft, and feels light and uncomfortable. The main kitchen and living area now feels part of the entire site and will evolve and change with the seasons as the garden grows. ⠀
—Timmins + Whyte Architects
