hen launching a new architectural practice, the first few
completed projects are an opportunity to express and
explore what the practice is about. It’s an opportunity
for a studio to articulate its design ethos and aesthetic
style. Ritz and Ghougassian’s first project involves alterations
and additions to director Gilad Ritz’s family home. It’s always
interesting visiting homes that architects have designed for
themselves because they offer a rare opportunity for the architect
to pursue ideas relatively unimpeded. In the case of Prahran
House, there are a number of gestures – in its planning, materiality
and design focus – that begin to set out the bones of the practice’s
future work.
The Prahran House, which is an extension to an existing
heritage home, sits on a compact site with no backyard or alfresco
area. Contrary to the tenets of the Great Australian Dream, Ritz
and Ghougassian recognize that squeezing a backyard into small
inner-city site can be to the detriment of the project. In fact, it
was the existing conditions of the property – which allowed for
building boundary-to-boundary – that initially drew Gilad to the
site. Although there is no conventional backyard, much thought
was given to greening the site and providing a visual connection
to the outdoors. The house is planned around two small courtyards
that flank either end of the new living area, one of which separates
the new addition from the existing structure, while the other
separates the living area from the main bedroom. Large sliding
doors to each courtyard can be opened up from either end of the
living room, allowing it to be converted into a pseudo outdoor
space. North-facing highlight windows are located high enough to
exclude glimpses of neighbouring roofs and fences and low enough
to capture views of nearby tree canopies. As a result, there are
multiple view lines that draw the eye to the outdoors and allow
its inhabitants to remain connected to nature, despite the absence
of a traditional backyard.
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Site: 300 m^2
Floor: 180 m^2Design: 11 mths
Build: 11 mths(young couple)