Studiofour revitalise a 1970s home, the Cunningham Street Residence, in Melbourne’s north with an emphasis on spatial fluidity and functional living. The Cunningham Street Residence was originally designed by renowned Australian architect Wayne Gillepsie in 1972, where the focus of the renovation was on trying to emulate the home’s original fabric while achieving a sense of contemporary authenticity and livability.
Studiofour’s design process was less concerned with aesthetic form and more concerned with how the home’s interior could be modified to afford greater ease and comfortability, where this involved paring back the interior detailing to achieve a sense of clarity and replanning to increase flow between spaces; improving understanding of the home’s language and strengthening Wayne’s original vision. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows obscure the line between inside and outside, and natural light embellishes each of the rooms.
The use of cool blues and fresh timber echo the world existing on the other side of the washed grey walls. The design team chose grey materials for the floors and walls to underpin the existing humility of the home. Grey then informed the rest of the home’s internal finishes to create consistency and evoke a sense of stability, contrasting with the timber kitchen island bench and the garden’s viridescence.