Inside a Modern Sanctuary Inspired by the Garden City
Inside a Modern Sanctuary Inspired by the Garden City
Set within the parkland surrounds of Park Crescent in Williamstown North, this home fosters a deeper connection with the landscape through the Garden City principles.
Designed by Architecture architecture, the renovation seamlessly blends home, park, and private garden. Through careful spatial planning, the design opens the house to the outdoors while creating more intimate internal spaces.
A soft, natural material palette—including green-bagged brick and warm timber—grounds the home in its setting. The result is a thoughtful response to both place and purpose—where architecture and nature exist in quiet harmony.
Nestled within the parkland of Park Crescent in Williamstown North, Melbourne-based architects, Architecture architecture had the challenge of carefully integrating home, landscape, and streetscape. Originally developed by the Victorian Housing Commission in the 1940s on Garden City principles, the area encourages features deep nature strips and seamless connections between private front gardens and the footpath.
Clients Bec, artist and owner of homewares brand Studio Do, and Richard sought to open their 1940s home to the outdoors while maintaining privacy. The challenge was balancing the generous streetscape with a secluded backyard. The result is a considered intervention that offers both openness and retreat.
A key move is the addition of an artist’s studio at the property’s edge, replacing an old shed. It creates a dedicated creative space while subtly defining the boundary between the courtyard and public realm. A distinctive porthole window frames glimpses of the street, allowing life from Park Crescent to filter in without compromising privacy.
A diagonal axis links old and new, guiding movement from the entry through the study and gallery to the expanded living spaces. ‘On a property that's relatively small, there’s quite an exciting moment of generosity'.’ explains Michael Roper, Director of Architecture architecture.
The new living and dining extension adopts a fluid, organic form, swelling for gathering areas and pinching to define thresholds. A material palette of green-bagged brick, polished concrete, and warm timbers reinforces the home’s connection to nature. ‘You still retain all the natural colour variation of the brick in behind the bagging,’ explains Michael. ‘You get this beautiful kind of field of pale greens and deep greens that has something of a grotto-like feel to it which speaks to the natural landscape.’
Bluestone paving and a generous awning extend the living space outward, softening the threshold between home and garden. Sitting in the living room, and looking out, Architecture architecture has given Bec and Richard a true sanctuary.
At its core, the home is about engaging with the natural landscape. ‘We worked with Bec and Richard to strike the right balance between giving a little bit of landscape back to the streetscape but also creating that sanctuary for them,’ says Michael Roper.
Park Life by Architecture architecture, built by JTR Construction, home of Studio Do.
Video production, photography and words by Anthony Richardson.
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