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albert park – simple elegant restraint

A renovation and extension to the rear of a heritage cottage in Albert Park.

This project is for a professional couple and their cat who loved the location but required more space and updated amenities for their period workers’ cottage on a very small 160 m² site.

The challenge was to achieve the required internal space while respecting the neighbouring properties’ access to sunlight and the historic streetscape.

The site had one western neighbour and five neighbouring properties to the east — all with private backyards facing directly onto the subject site.

To add to these constraints, the house was in a heritage overlay which further restricted the height and visibility of any new works from the street.

This project became an exercise in creating a large, elegant, and spacious-feeling environment, carefully wedged around these limiting conditions. The external envelope of the new extension responds directly to the site constraints: the roofline starts extremely low at the street end, then rises toward the rear of the site — stepping away from the five eastern neighbours’ backyards.

To achieve this unusually low roofline, the ground‑floor ceiling is stepped: the lower ceiling accommodates bathrooms and the stairwell, while the ceiling height increases over the kitchen and meals area.

Inside, materials and the colour palette are deliberately kept minimal to reduce visual clutter and enhance the sense of space.

With clever design, small spaces can feel larger than they are. Filled with natural light, vaulted ceilings, and abundant skylights, this five‑metre‑wide site borrows views and connects to the outside, creating a strong sense of space. Despite historical restrictions, solar limitations, and the small site size, a distinct “large small house” was created — one that successfully addresses all key concerns.