Straddling both commercial and residential typologies, Victoria sees a balancing of two opposing vernaculars, sympathetically intertwined within a heritage context. Finnis Architects together with Huntress Design propose a tightly woven solution to a complex brief, carefully navigating a narrow allotment.

Nestled into Melbourne’s inner heritage-rich Albert Park, Victoria is narrow and tall, darkened as a contrast to the surrounding red brick homes it sits amongst. Spread over three levels, the ground and first floors comprise a commercial tenancy space, with the upper level disguising its two-bedroom apartment within. The overall volume intentionally reads as one, ensuring the existing heritage shopfront is retained, with the new feeling like a natural evolution. The use of brick on the residential rear face provides a direct extension and interpretation of the surrounds, while the new street frontage is conceived as a crisp metal mesh clad façade. The contrasting face to the street ensures a point of difference, while still sitting sympathetically to the heritage elements of the façade. Finnis Architects combine with interior design by Huntress Design to carefully and methodically sleeve in the new addition.

Built by Mancini Made, Victoria combines a monochromatic palette of refined and tactile elements, creating a home of restorative calm. While the lower levels of the building house the commercial space, the upper level remains the focus as the new addition and sees a series of crisp and considered gestures come together. As the rear of the site engages with its laneway, the mixed-use overlay becomes residential, and so too does the building fabric alter in response. The careful articulation of the black brick envelope sees relief and pattern integrated into the front face, adding depth and creating opportunities for the sun to interact with the form and cast interesting shadows to animate the front.

With grey as the muted base for the home, a shared warmth is felt throughout, bringing the dark cloak of the exterior approach into the interior of the apartment. Veined stone adds an element of patterned interest, while being a tactile and quality insertion to age gracefully and endure within the space. Deep and saturated colour is used in conjunction with brushed brass to elevate nuances spaces throughout. The two-bedroom home sits efficiently on its tight site, making use of its narrow and challenging conditions, opening generously onto its own private rooftop terrace space, acting as an extension of the home.

Victoria embeds a richness through textural diversity and movement in finishes to its considered response to a tight site and brief. Finnis Architects and Huntress Design create the ideal multi-functional place of residence that draws on heritage and responds to place.