Design Intent The Ridgeway House project was a happy collaboration between Merrylees Architecture and Quinn Architecture and our very dynamic and inspiring Client. We are old school friends, university colleagues and working mums.
Our brief was to create a tranquil home that could be a sanctuary away from the world. This sanctuary must also be a highly functional building where a multitude of uses could be concealed in order to maintain the feeling of peace and calm- an escape for a busy professional woman, and her partner, in a dense and very urban part of Melbourne.
The result is a sculptural renovation of the original, weatherboard Victorian cottage. The plan allows for a series of highly flexible spaces that solve the new requirements for all of; a blended family, visiting overseas relatives, and a professional home office.
We believe we have designed a solution that takes full advantage of the site opportunities creating an extension that provides new interest at each point on the journey through this house whilst maintaining an overall feeling of calm. This compact house now contains beautiful spaces that provide intimate and tailored settings as well as expansive environments for family occasions.
We feel sustainability is an integral part of all of our projects. It must start with making the most of the natural features of the site by ensuring we integrate the best of these into both the design and function of the building to create a happy working relationship between the building and its surroundings.
At The Ridgeway, as with all our projects, we start by including and enhancing passive solar principles throughout the building. We have curated the light that enters the building, for example, the high glazing of the large living space allows maximum amount of natural light to reach the busiest part of house. This extra high glazing allows for plentiful daylight despite neighbouring structures that might otherwise limit this natural resource. This glazing has been integrated into a both decorative and functional shade structure where the dimensions optimise winter sun and limit summer sun.
Tailoring of natural light is designed throughout the new spaces of the house. In addition to this there are breezeways and ceiling fans for promoting ventilation, and our selection of materials, in partnership with our heating and cooling measures, ensure that the house maintains a relatively constant temperature. The thermal mass and additional insulation also help to block out the noise pollution in the area which further enhances the feeling of sanctuary for the occupants.
