潜望镜屋丨澳大利亚丨Architecture architecture

There’s a particular joy derived from designing a small house well. This seems to be especially true for Architecture architecture, Melbourne-based practice with a reputation for inventive spatial solutions that thrive on the challenge.

Located in a dense urban pocket of Richmond, on a site of just 84-square-meters, this residential project was particularly small. The architects looked to address three major pitfalls—space, natural light and vertical circulation—with one very neat solution: the ‘periscope’.

Showcasing their poetic flair, the project is captured by this accompanying passage. “A periscope, washed-up on the beach. The oceans must be full of them and yet this is quite unexpected: half buried with its ends poking out like a happy seaworm, chatting to its tail. The tides have washed it crystalline; mirrors bend the light to fill its buried chambers. A single sunlit passage, coursing through the sand.”

Park Life House in Melbourne by Architecture Architecture.This extension sensitively celebrates the humble suburban Melbourne block, implementing an addition that beautifully adds to...

Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 01 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 02 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 03 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 04 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 05 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 06 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 07 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 08 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 09 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 10 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 11 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 12 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 13 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 14 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 15 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 16 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 17 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 18 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 19 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 20 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 21 Architecture Architecture Periscope House Extension Melbourne Photo Tom Ross Yellowtrace 22

To combat the narrow site, a double-height void in the centre of the house lends a little luxury to the spaces that spill from it. Originally the darkest part of the building, now with a sky window, the full width of the property inundates light like a sudden sun shower. Here the staircase is orientated to offer the maximum natural light across levels.

Delightfully simple, a mirrored screen amplifies these effects—space, light and movement in a single gesture—drawing views through the house, from both the courtyard and sky.

This type of approach is indicative of the Architecture architecture team whose philosophy is underpinned by a firm belief in the potential of architecture to foster positive social environments.

Vivarium House by Architecture Architecture.With an emphasis on reduced environmental impact and maintaining its characteristic street front, this revitalised Thornbury cottage reconnects to its surroundings...

[Images courtesy of Architecture architecture. Photography by Tom Ross.]