Grounded & Nurtured

Bordering the Royal Botanic Gardens in the inner Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, this 1889 Victorian terrace house by acclaimed firm Reed, Henderson and Smart (now Bates Smart) was originally built for the foreman of Mutual Stores Ltd., the city’s first department store, established in 1872. Sydney-based architect Oliver Du Puy was charged with reconfiguring and extending this heritage home for an events director with two children, aged 17 and 19, and their West Highland terrier.

“We were tasked to reinvigorate and celebrate many of the period details that had been covered up or removed,” says Du Puy. “I wanted to explore the potential beauty of the historic Victorian architecture and juxtapose it with contemporary ideas of space, light and material articulation.” Old and new have been carefully woven together to create a sensitive counterbalance, where grand classical moments are enhanced with cornicing, ceiling roses, fireplaces and skirting while expressing a sense of intimacy and giving the feeling of being in a refuge.

Every aspect of this project contributes to the peaceful atmosphere that pervades throughout. Natural, breathable internal finishes – such as lime-based paints from Farrow & Ball and custom waterproof béton ciré – help to create a healthier indoor environment, regulating air quality and eliminating harmful moulds and toxins.

An invitation to slow down, feel grounded and nurture the senses, this home features a palette with subtle touches of mustards and pinks – imagined by Du Puy in collaboration with interior designer Mardi Ola – which was inspired by artist Mark Rothko’s colour field paintings by Rothko. “A thread of soft grey-green from Farrow & Ball is used throughout at different strengths, drawing attention to the verdant green surrounding the property,” says the architect.

Du Puy grew up between Paris and Melbourne and then trained under Norman Foster in London, as well as Kengo Kuma and Junya Ishigami in Tokyo, and his influences and outlook reflect all those experiences. Evoking his time working in Japan and his interest in exploring Japanese architect Kazuo Shinohara’s symmetrical spatial compositions, Du Puy also introduced warmth through the expressed timber ceiling.

Going further to optimise the environmental performance of the house and minimise embodied energies and construction waste, Du Puy salvaged and reused all original clay bricks, opting for sustainable and locally made Hebel walls (aerated concrete made from lime, sand, cement and water). He also installed solar PV panels, among other sustainable measures.

“We wanted to design a home with vibrancy, which offers warm tones but also generates a tranquil, uncluttered energy,” concludes Du Puy. “The home works to fuse simplicity and surprise, the ordered and the unexpected.”