Transforming the existing timber weatherboard Edwardian home, Hampton House sees the infusing of natural luminance and a contemporary enduring nature into the already layered home.
Located in the same-named Hampton, in Melbourne, Hampton House is a story of lineage. The continued narrative of the original home and its ornate and crafted details offer an expanded life through the opening up of its volumes. Architecture Works utilise the generous siting through a process of expansion, evolving the original principles and softly engaging with the surrounding landscape.
Injecting a sense of calm, a helical stair connects the varying levels, softly playing with light as it curves upward, hinting at movement.
A key driving force behind the new works is preserving the existing, in particular its charm, and ensuring this continued as the face of the home. Doused in white paint, the original timber weatherboard frontage and front rooms remain, with the new extended elements concealed from the streetscape upon entry.
Expanding upward and downward across the home’s sloping site, the proposal spans three levels and sits tucked into the landscape. Flat and linear planes from the modern home appear to slide outward from the modern additions, into the landscape, while the natural plantings are brought inward, to meet the built form.
An open and monolithic fireplace warms the home, sharing the same linear language throughout.
Linear blinds cast shadows across the crisp polished concrete flooring throughout the day, moving with the sun.
A muted retreat sees textural timber warm the sleeping areas, while a monochromatic approach calms at the same time.
Connecting across the different levels is a helical stair that sits sculptural within the home. Open from above, the rounded aperture pulls natural light deep into the home, across the levels, and in an unexpected manner. Through a play on compression and release, volumes are tightened and expanded to hint at use and a varying level of intimacy.
While the original front rooms were retained and repurposed, the addition sits light and open, connecting its family and welcoming an audience. Uninterrupted concrete structural slabs extend beyond the generous glazing that encases the home and provides shelter below and an outdoor balcony above. The same linear approach identifies Hampton House’s new additions then spills out into the landscape, crisply shaping zones. The new effortlessly connects with the old in a balanced and bound home to endure through a calming and monochromatic focus.
