Shot Tower Terrace Victoria, Australia home design photos, Modern architecture images

Shot Tower Terrace in Victoria

3 December 2024

Architects: Design by AD

Location: Victoria, Australia

Photos by Tatjana Plitt

Shot Tower Terrace, Australia

Blending a rich connection to heritage through a warmth in materiality familiar to the area, the Shot Tower Terrace residence has been restored and expanded. Through a contemporary lens, the original proportions of the Victorian-era workers cottage vernacular have been retained, readied for a fresh new chapter and custodianship. The new footprint establishes a clear rhythm between old and new and with considered restraint, the existing weathered home has been transformed into an enduring and modern iteration of its former self.

Sitting next to the historic Clifton Hill Shot Tower, the retention of the existing character and charm was integral amongst introducing new materials. As a result, the façade presents as two inverted roof pitches separated by a flat section expanse as a reference to the traditional silhouettes of surrounding homes of similar scales. The break in the overall mass is intended to lessen the overall impact, and to insert an element of the unexpected. The intentional vertical break maintains sight lines to the tower and area, while also creating a presence and identity.

The original red-brick is combined with a reference to the strapped gable frontages through a combination of cement sheeting and a timber profile. These dark elements then wrap the new form, with inset windows expressing a deepness and permanence. The openings both balance bringing in natural light into the home, as well as allowing for areas of privacy from the surrounds. In delineating the upper and lower levels through different materials, the lighter elements above indicate a sensitivity to how the old and new are being brought together and appear to hover above the masonry base. A similar warmth is then also brought inside.

Although narrow, once inside, the use of lighter and muted tones enhances the overall felt scale of the spaces with incoming light and a restrained palette minimising junctions. Walnut-lined joinery layers both texture and a richness as a modern interpretation of a traditional approach, with cleaner and linear elements sharpening the overall feel. The use of concrete flooring, exposed brickwork, black-framed windows and grey stone also draw from established industry nearby, grounding the home in place.

Above the upper level, a rooftop terrace opens to the nearby treetop canopies and skyline in the distance and adds a reprieve from the otherwise compressed site. Together with an integrated bar, planters and an intimate enclosed courtyard space, there are moments that connect outward and upward to nature and the elements throughout the day. As an exercise in restoration, and one in doing more with less, but deliberate moves, Noone Street aims to reclaim the beauty of the cottage’s Victorian origins, while also instilling a relevance for contemporary living today.