A stately, corner-sited Edwardian home on the crest of Ruckers Hill in Northcote, Victoria, was where this young family chose their forever home. After moving frequently over the past decade, the family had decided it was time to settle in one place, and in a home that provided for every family member’s specific interests. The home required reimagining that would result in an original home that took advantage of the site, and was sympathetic to the Edwardian heritage.
Ruckers Hill House “had been bastardised with a period imitation lean-to on the back, the kitchen and dining spaces facing south. Aluminium-framed windows were inserted sometime in the ‘80s, along with finishes and materials of that era that we considered inappropriate to the Edwardian dwelling. The backyard was situated to the south of the property, often overshadowed and underutilised,” says Melissa Bright, director at Studio Bright.
Based on the clients’ desire for a “classic, fun, quirky and not too loud on the street” family home, Bright Studio aimed to create a “robust forever home that would withstand not only time, but the stray indoor cricket ball, and one that would accommodate specialised interests of particular family members”.
The music room, which is primarily for relaxing and Dad’s love of records, can also become an impromptu theatre for the kids’ stage and music productions. On the upper floor, two multipurpose spaces house a library, lounge, guest room and study. Mum is a librarian, so this provided her with a space to escape and read a book.
“Spaces are small but connected,” says Melissa.
“We have never really liked large, expansive living spaces, preferring smaller areas that provide a sense of comfort and home.”
Key design challenges of this project included how to “balance internal privacy with street and public realm activation and engagement”, as well as providing a contemporary home for the family while paying homage to the site’s Edwardian origins.
Restoration works were costly and extensive, and involved stripping back detritus, removing shed-roofed, lean-to additions, and demolishing kitchen spaces, poorly executed improvements in the home’s interior, incompatible fencing and a rear brick garage.
Ruckers Hill House has a “two-art nature: one a personal retreat and the other more civilly engaged with an eye on the street and far horizon”, says Melissa. “Adding to the amenity of the street was a key principle of the project. The planning of this house allows for a sequence of architectural conditions and spaces that continue our interest in social sustainability and activating relationships between residences and the surrounds with architecture that engages its context and activates site, while offering something both for the inhabitants and the surrounding neighbourhood.”
Ruckers Hill House would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Eastern Kulin nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which this project is located.
