Northcote Cascade House

A renovation and extension to a 1940s Interwar Art-Deco home in Northcote for a family of four. At its core it explores two themes – cultural identity and embracing compact living surrounded by nature. 

As recent immigrants, this project is strongly shaped by the clients’ cultural background. Growing up in South Asai, they were surrounded by brick architecture. Brick has an extensive history in the South Asian sub-continent. It’s diverse abilities –  as exterior skin, brise-soleil, thermal mass, ornament and monumental – are the reasons it almost entirely covers the new addition. 

The end result is a home where the spaces are modestly scaled but possess a richness in detail that conjures delight.

• Our design approach was to tap into many of the characteristics of the existing home, including key moments they loved and what joy meant to them.
• The existing home’s brick palette is continued at the back and celebrated with a corbel detail inspired by the existing art-deco ceilings – thus re-capturing the moment our clients fell in love with this home.
• As avid gardeners, our clients  wanted the extension to express their connection to nature and the nearby creek. This is expressed in the projecting gutter that funnels rainwater from the roof via a rain-chain into the garden beds.
• The roof-line playfully inverts the traditional roof in order to capture northern light for living rooms/bedrooms and softer southern light for bathrooms.
• A simple low-profile entry and linkway connects the old and new portions with a private courtyard and light-well.