Studiofour conjures Hygge at a house renovation in Melbourne
How do you define ‘hygge’ architecturally? Providing comfort at home is different for everyone, many people like to feel soft carpet beneath their feet, others like to throw the windows open. For the clients of Australian architecture collective StudioFour, a family with Danish heritage living in Melbourne, their idea of hygge was an authentic house with an identity. The architects, led by directors Annabelle Berryman and Sarah Henry, took a holistic approach to the brief completely transforming an existing house into a powerful modern design, which through texture and colour creates an atmosphere of calm and mindfulness.
For a modern new-build house, it’s a challenge to ‘design’ authenticity. It’s a trait that often comes with age – a good house ripens over time and settles into its site, accepted by the earth. Memories also add layers of authenticity – cracks, stains and fades that become part of everyday living. An important part of Studiofour’s Central Park Residence therefore, was that it began with an existing house, and while the house has been transformed by renovation, this core became part of its identity, tethering it to architectural history. The architects – equally as romantically – describe this as ‘conserving the heart and soul of the forgotten’.
Brickwork played a major part of the new look of the house – structurally, bricks re-built the shape of the house into a low-rise, horizontal minimalist block. An exaggeration of its original form, which brought coherence and unity to the plan, the architects saw this new shape as a returning the house to its ‘essence’, while remaining strong and modernist. A new over-sized eave that marks the house’s entry, also creates space for landscaping and a sheltered outdoor area, as well as enhancing privacy.
Texturally, the bricks add warmth and character, with vertical joints and raking across existing horizontal joint lines. The bricks continue from the facade and into the interior, where the architects describe the walls as ‘unadorned and honest’. Said walls part to create portal openings to connect the rooms in a plan that has subtle divisions, yet is largely open, with glass walls separating the dining and living spaces.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Harriet Thorpe is a writer, journalist and editor covering architecture, design and culture, with particular interest in sustainability, 20th-century architecture and community. After studying History of Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and Journalism at City University in London, she developed her interest in architecture working at Wallpaper* magazine and today contributes to Wallpaper*, The World of Interiors and Icon magazine, amongst other titles. She is author of The Sustainable City (2022, Hoxton Mini Press), a book about sustainable architecture in London, and the Modern Cambridge Map (2023, Blue Crow Media), a map of 20th-century architecture in Cambridge, the city where she grew up.
-
Meet the Turner Prize 2024 shortlisted artists
The Turner Prize 2024 shortlisted artists are Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The Brazilian Forest House injects art into a modernist-inspired, contemporary design
The Brazilian Forest House, designed in upstate São Paulo by FGMF, brings together nature and art
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Waiting room inspo: Inside Studioutte’s cinematic Sala D’Attesa at Milan Design Week
Studioutte’s Sala D’Attesa, staged in Nolo during Milan Design Week 2024, was a scenographic interior merging different design sensibilities
By Laura May Todd Published
-
Burnt Earth Beach House is an experimental retreat crafted in terracotta
The experimental Australian Burnt Earth Beach House by John Wardle breaks new ground in material composition, using baked earth for warmth, texture and tonality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Lavender Bay house opens towards the water, overlooking Sydney harbour
Lavender Bay house by Tobias Partners is an expansive family home overlooking Sydney harbour
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Mori House is an Australian beach escape fusing international design influences
Mornington Peninsula's Mori House by architect Manuel Aires Mateus is a striking fusion of Australian, Portuguese and Japanese design influences
By Stephen Crafti Published
-
Victorian cottage transformed by radical extension into a light-filled living space
Glasshouse Projects has opened up the heart of this Victorian cottage in Adelaide, Australia, with a contemporary garden extension and pool
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Sydney’s Wharf Apartment is a heritage maritime space that evokes a coastal holiday home
Lawless & Meyerson’s Wharf Apartment is a careful, contemporary residential transformation in Sydney’s Finger Wharf that taps into the property's historic character
By Grace Bernard Published
-
Eclat rethinks 21st-century workspace with a hospitality offering in Melbourne
With new Melbourne co-working space Eclat, Australian designers Forme defy the conventional shared office model through sensitive craftsmanship and hidden high-tech
By Carli Philips Published
-
This Melbourne aquatic recreation centre’s crafted timber ceiling hints at its sustainability ambitions
The Northcote Aquatic Recreation Centre by Warren and Mahoney opens in Melbourne, blending sleek aesthetics with environmental responsibility
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Treetops House brings softness to contemporary concrete volumes in Sydney
Treetops House by Tobias Partners is an Australian home that juxtaposes crisp concrete volumes with soft curves, playful colours and lush nature
By Ellie Stathaki Published